Domain Names Still Drawing Big Bucks
Time.com anticipates the domain name industry could reach a market value of $4 billion within three years. A startling statistic fueling such a statement: over 90,000 domain names are purchased every day. One common way to buy and sell domain names is through a silent auction. GoDaddy.com is one of the leading sites that hosts the domain name transactions and views the act as a property investment. GoDaddy is essentially a grab bag of names, some selling for a less than $5 a pop - although these are probably not the names like business.com that sold for an eventual $7.5 million. This is a testament to the domain name industry indicating it has only become more lucrative in passing years. Five years or so ago, strong, searchable domain names would net around $8,000 versus similar names that sell now for well over $100,000.
Way back in 1999 (at least in the online industry it seems like ages ago) the infamous U.S. based eToys were hit with a suit for trademark infringement after using the domain name, etoys.com, which was already used by a European company of the same name. eToys were forced to change their name and subsquently went bust along with most of the online world. At the time though, the name game was just starting and .biz, .net, and others were not even on the radar.
Trademark laws are fortunately more black and white these days - basically, you don’t touch a trademarked name and you’ll be ok. As the lines of business become more defined, is it occurring at a time when the bubble is about to burst in this lucrative business?
It’s inevitable that the domain name trend will change - the online world is dynamic and reinventing itself every minute. As search patterns evolve and domain name ‘property’ is superseded by other mechanisms, the industry will adjust.