<s>
Domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
speculation	I-Protocol
,	O
popular	O
as	O
domaining	B-Protocol
in	O
professional	O
jargon	O
,	O
is	O
the	O
practice	O
of	O
identifying	O
and	O
registering	O
or	O
acquiring	O
generic	O
Internet	O
domain	O
names	O
as	O
an	O
investment	O
with	O
the	O
intent	O
of	O
selling	O
them	O
later	O
for	O
a	O
profit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
targets	O
of	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
speculation	I-Protocol
are	O
generic	O
words	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
valuable	O
for	O
type-in	B-Protocol
traffic	I-Protocol
and	O
for	O
the	O
dominant	O
position	O
they	O
would	O
have	O
in	O
any	O
field	O
due	O
to	O
their	O
descriptive	O
nature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sometimes	O
,	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
speculation	I-Protocol
involves	O
finding	O
domain	O
names	O
early	O
in	O
a	O
market	O
,	O
particularly	O
when	O
a	O
new	O
top-level	O
domain	O
is	O
launched	O
,	O
registering	O
them	O
and	O
waiting	O
until	O
the	O
market	O
grows	O
to	O
sell	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Domain	O
speculation	O
occurs	O
in	O
other	O
TLDs	O
as	O
well	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
NET	B-Application
and	O
to	O
a	O
lesser	O
extent	O
in	O
ORG	O
,	O
INFO	O
,	O
and	O
BIZ	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
speculation	I-Protocol
also	O
occurs	O
in	O
country	B-Application
code	I-Application
top-level	I-Application
domains	I-Application
(	O
ccTLDs	B-Application
)	O
such	O
as	O
.uk	B-Application
,	O
.de	B-General_Concept
and	O
.us	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
UK	O
's	O
domain	O
has	O
over	O
7.7	O
million	O
domains	O
registered	O
according	O
to	O
Nominet	O
's	O
domain	O
registration	O
statistics	O
webpage	O
,	O
mainly	O
in	O
its	O
commercial	O
sub-domain	B-Protocol
co.uk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
EU	O
ccTLD	B-Application
is	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
what	O
happens	O
when	O
speculative	O
activity	O
overtakes	O
"	O
ordinary	O
"	O
domain	O
registrations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specialist	O
and	O
repurposed	O
ccTLDs	B-Application
have	O
also	O
seen	O
elements	O
of	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
speculation	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
examples	O
is	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
.tv	B-Protocol
ccTLD	B-Application
which	O
has	O
found	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
TV	O
is	O
an	O
abbreviation	O
for	O
the	O
word	O
television	O
to	O
be	O
rather	O
lucrative	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
.mobi	O
premium	O
generic	O
words	O
and	O
phrases	O
list	O
is	O
a	O
good	O
example	O
of	O
the	O
domain	O
names	O
that	O
are	O
at	O
the	O
heart	O
of	O
most	O
early-market	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
speculation	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
country	B-Application
code	I-Application
TLDs	I-Application
or	O
sponsored	O
TLDs	O
will	O
have	O
what	O
is	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
an	O
eligibility	O
or	O
nexus	O
requirement	O
to	O
limit	O
registration	O
to	O
specific	O
geographical	O
or	O
national	O
regions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
this	O
does	O
not	O
deter	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
speculation	I-Protocol
as	O
various	O
options	O
such	O
as	O
using	O
a	O
local	O
agent	O
or	O
company	O
to	O
enable	O
people	O
to	O
register	O
domains	O
in	O
such	O
TLDs	O
exist	O
and	O
have	O
been	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
speculation	I-Protocol
has	O
evolved	O
with	O
the	O
expansion	O
of	O
the	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
system	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
ccTLD	B-Application
landscape	O
had	O
yet	O
to	O
appear	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
growing	O
public	O
awareness	O
of	O
the	O
COM	O
TLD	O
was	O
gathering	O
momentum	O
owing	O
to	O
the	O
growth	O
of	O
the	O
Dot-com	O
bubble	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
inevitably	O
attracted	O
the	O
attention	O
of	O
those	O
who	O
saw	O
potential	O
value	O
in	O
domain	O
names	O
,	O
and	O
by	O
this	O
time	O
many	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
valuable	O
generic	O
domain	O
names	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
sex.com	O
and	O
business.com,	O
had	O
been	O
registered	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
clear	O
legal	O
position	O
existed	O
to	O
distinguish	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
speculation	I-Protocol
and	O
cybersquatting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
accusation	O
against	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
speculation	I-Protocol
is	O
that	O
it	O
is	O
cybersquatting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Legitimate	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
speculation	I-Protocol
tends	O
to	O
steer	O
clear	O
of	O
trademarks	O
and	O
concentrate	O
on	O
generic	O
words	O
and	O
phrases	O
as	O
domains	O
based	O
on	O
trademarks	O
can	O
be	O
subject	O
of	O
UDRP	O
actions	O
by	O
the	O
trademark	O
owners	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
due	O
in	O
part	O
to	O
typosquatting	B-Protocol
,	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
cybersquatting	O
where	O
variations	O
of	O
the	O
spelling	O
of	O
a	O
brand	O
's	O
domain	O
will	O
be	O
registered	O
in	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
profit	O
from	O
users	O
mistyping	O
the	O
URL	O
of	O
the	O
site	O
they	O
wish	O
to	O
visit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
speculation	I-Protocol
has	O
evolved	O
alongside	O
the	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
system	I-Protocol
,	O
the	O
most	O
memorable	O
and	O
shortest	O
domains	O
tend	O
to	O
be	O
amongst	O
those	O
registered	O
first	O
in	O
any	O
TLD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
country	B-Application
code	I-Application
TLDs	I-Application
the	O
jurisdiction	O
is	O
more	O
clearly	O
defined	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
market	O
for	O
domain	B-Protocol
name	I-Protocol
speculation	I-Protocol
covers	O
newly	O
registered	O
domain	O
names	O
that	O
have	O
not	O
been	O
registered	O
before	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
launch	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
TLD	O
encourages	O
primary	O
market	O
speculation	O
as	O
domainers	O
rush	O
to	O
register	O
generic	O
terms	O
and	O
also	O
phrases	O
that	O
make	O
a	O
pun	O
on	O
the	O
TLD	O
name	O
(	O
domain	B-Application
hack	I-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
last	O
three	O
years	O
the	O
main	O
new	O
TLDs	O
launched	O
were	O
.eu	O
ccTLD	B-Application
,	O
.mobi	O
TLD	O
and	O
.asia	O
sTLD	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VeriSign	B-Application
,	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
TLDs	O
COM	O
and	O
NET	B-Application
,	O
allows	O
each	O
registrar	O
a	O
slice	O
of	O
the	O
resources	O
that	O
may	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
register	O
dropped	O
domains	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
VeriSign	B-Application
drops	O
domains	O
in	O
a	O
random	O
order	O
,	O
giving	O
registrars	O
only	O
a	O
vague	O
idea	O
of	O
the	O
particular	O
drop	O
time	O
of	O
a	O
particular	O
domain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sometimes	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
drop	B-Protocol
registrars	I-Protocol
often	O
work	O
in	O
confederation	O
to	O
increase	O
their	O
possibility	O
of	O
registering	O
a	O
dropped	O
domain	O
immediately	O
after	O
it	O
is	O
deleted	O
by	O
the	O
registry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
domain	O
is	O
caught	O
by	O
a	O
confederation	O
of	O
registrars	O
attempting	O
to	O
fulfill	O
a	O
domain	O
backorder	O
,	O
then	O
whichever	O
domain	B-Application
registrar	I-Application
caught	O
the	O
domain	O
will	O
register	O
it	O
to	O
the	O
entity	O
who	O
backordered	O
the	O
domain	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ease	O
with	O
which	O
PPC	O
revenue	O
could	O
be	O
derived	O
from	O
parked	B-Protocol
domains	I-Protocol
effectively	O
created	O
a	O
situation	O
where	O
domains	O
were	O
being	O
registered	O
purely	O
for	O
their	O
type-in	B-Protocol
traffic	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
part	O
of	O
that	O
increase	O
in	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
registered	O
domain	O
names	O
is	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
increase	O
in	O
ecommerce	O
and	O
business	O
conducted	O
online	O
,	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
increase	O
is	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
ease	O
of	O
generating	O
revenue	O
from	O
PPC	O
and	O
type-in	B-Protocol
traffic	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Domain	O
tasting	O
,	O
a	O
practice	O
by	O
which	O
millions	O
of	O
domains	O
would	O
be	O
registered	O
for	O
a	O
limited	O
period	O
(	O
the	O
five-day	O
Add	O
Grace	O
Period	O
during	O
which	O
a	O
domain	O
could	O
be	O
deleted	O
without	O
the	O
registrar	O
effectively	O
having	O
to	O
pay	O
a	O
registration	O
fee	O
to	O
ICANN	B-Application
)	O
and	O
only	O
those	O
generating	O
sufficient	O
revenue	O
from	O
PPC	O
advertising	O
would	O
be	O
retained	O
,	O
also	O
served	O
to	O
increase	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
domains	O
registered	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
practice	O
involved	O
domain	B-Application
name	I-Application
registrars	I-Application
being	O
created	O
purely	O
for	O
the	O
purpose	O
of	O
domain	O
tasting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
situation	O
became	O
so	O
bad	O
in	O
2007	O
that	O
ICANN	B-Application
was	O
forced	O
to	O
take	O
action	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
June	O
2008	O
ICANN	B-Application
added	O
a	O
provision	O
to	O
its	O
Fiscal	O
Year	O
2009	O
budget	O
to	O
limit	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
domains	O
that	O
a	O
registrar	O
could	O
delete	O
using	O
the	O
Add	O
Grace	O
Period	O
before	O
having	O
to	O
pay	O
the	O
ICANN	B-Application
fee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
effect	O
of	O
this	O
was	O
to	O
massively	O
curtail	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
domains	O
deleted	O
in	O
.com	O
and	O
.net	B-Application
during	O
the	O
Add	O
Grace	O
Period	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
March	O
2006	O
Verisign	B-Application
Domain	O
Brief	O
stated	O
that	O
out	O
of	O
approximately	O
57.37	O
million	O
COM	O
and	O
NET	B-Application
websites	O
spidered	O
,	O
26%	O
were	O
single	O
page	O
websites	O
,	O
60%	O
were	O
multipage	O
websites	O
and	O
14%	O
had	O
no	O
associated	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
single	O
page	O
websites	O
include	O
under-construction	O
,	O
brochure-ware	B-Application
and	O
parked	O
pages	O
in	O
addition	O
to	O
online	O
advertising	O
revenue	O
generating	O
(	O
PPC	O
)	O
parked	O
pages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
latest	O
statistics	O
for	O
domain	O
name	O
usage	O
quoted	O
in	O
the	O
Verisign	B-Application
Domain	O
Brief	O
for	O
June	O
2009	O
states	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
92	O
million	O
COM	O
and	O
NET	B-Application
domain	O
names	O
,	O
24%	O
of	O
these	O
domains	O
have	O
one	O
page	O
websites	O
,	O
64%	O
have	O
multipage	O
websites	O
and	O
12%	O
have	O
no	O
associated	O
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
purely	O
numerical	O
terms	O
,	O
those	O
single	O
page	O
websites	O
would	O
account	O
for	O
approximately	O
22	O
million	O
COM	O
and	O
NET	B-Application
websites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
survey	O
quoted	O
in	O
the	O
Verisign	B-Application
Domain	O
Brief	O
does	O
not	O
explain	O
the	O
methodology	O
or	O
provide	O
anything	O
other	O
than	O
a	O
summary	O
of	O
the	O
results	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
hosters	O
such	O
as	O
Godaddy	O
have	O
their	O
own	O
domain	B-Protocol
parking	I-Protocol
systems	O
and	O
allow	O
unused	O
domains	O
to	O
be	O
parked	O
with	O
the	O
registrant	O
receiving	O
a	O
share	O
of	O
the	O
PPC	O
revenue	O
earned	O
.	O
</s>
