If you’re interested in an excellent discussion around domain name law, then have a listen to the latest episode of This Week in Law. In a one-hour audio podcast, host Denise Howell and friends take on a variety of domain name-related legal topics from domain name tasting, to website takedowns.

Links to some background information on the topics discussed can be found in the show’s del.icio.us feed.

The panel is quite excellent: Moderator Denise Howell blogs regularly for ZDNet about technology and the law. Marty Schwimmer is a blogger and well-regarded expert in trademark law. Bret Fausett runs the excellent icann.Blog. Cathy Kirkman is a lawyer and blogger practicing in the Bay area. Lastly, Colette Vogele is a lawyer, blogger specializing in intellectual property issues related to technology, new media and the arts.

Download the podcast here. Or subscribe in iTunes.

According to a press release from Verisign, effective October 1, 2008, the registry fee for .com domain names will rise from $6.42 to $6.86 and the registry fee for .net domain names will increase from $3.85 to $4.23.

This should come as no surprise to those who follow what’s been happening in the domain name industry over the last few years. Just this past October, a similar price increase went into effect, raising the registry fee for a .com from $6.00 to $6.42. Other registries followed suit raising prices across the board for generic top-level domains.

Elliot Noss, Tucows CEO and President called it “a dark day in Internet history.” At the same time, he predicted perfectly what would happen in 2008, saying, “Worse, this now signals a near-annual event that will take place in all major gTLDs. It is simply wrong.” You can read the full text here.

If history is any indication, we can expect other registries to announce similar fee increases.

We’re pleased to announce the availability of .ASIA domains, which went live here at Tucows earlier today. With more than one-third of Internet users located in Asia, the .ASIA Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) can help qualified individuals and businesses easily identify themselves in a market that’s growing very quickly.

I use the term “qualified” because the .ASIA gTLD does have a registrant residency requirement: at least one of the registrant contacts must be located in the Asia-Pacific region.

Given the .ASIA universe stretches from Australia to Turkey, (think of it as similar to .EU): a very popular domain extension that helps European individuals and companies identify themselves to a specific regional community. .ASIA has the potential to have the same impact.

Like the other gTLDs offered through Tucows, .ASIA domain names are available through our “cost plus” pricing structure. The registry fee is $10/year, plus the 20 cent ICANN fee, plus the Tucows Management Fee. Names are available in terms of between one and 10 years.

If you haven’t already signed up to sell .ASIA, it’s pretty simple. Download a copy of the current contract, and sign and send in pages 1 and 17.

On Saturday, March 29th, from 9:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M., Tucows will be holding a Job Fair at our Toronto headquarters. We’re looking for Customer Service Representatives and Technical Support Analysts to join the team. More details on the specific positions, including job descriptions can be found at our careers site.

At the job fair, you’ll get to meet one-on-one with department managers. You’ll have a brief interview with them to give you a chance to talk about what you can bring to Tucows, and to find out more about us. Be sure to bring a couple copies of your resume, a pen and a notebook.

Make the most of your interview:

Last year we provided some tips for those looking to ace the job fair. If you are planning on coming down, be sure to give that a read — there’s some good stuff in there that will help you pull off a stellar interview and make the very most of your only chance to make a good first impression.

We also shot a short video interview with Sherry Azim, who handles recruiting. You might want to have a peek at that as well, if only to remember what summer looks like and to give you a familiar face to look for.

Learn more about us:

If you’re wondering what working at Tucows would be like, we’ve put together a list of the top 10 reasons to join the team. The atmosphere is light, the work is challenging and rewarding, and those around you are as passionate about the Internet as you are. If you want to be a part of making the Internet better and more useful, then Tucows is a great place to make that happen.

Getting here:

We’re at 96 Mowat Ave. in Toronto’s Liberty Village neighborhood. The closest intersection is King St. and Dufferin Ave. TTC riders should take either the 29 Dufferin bus or the 504 King streetcar. From the intersection of King and Dufferin, Tucows is a very short, one block walk east on King to Mowat Ave. We’re just south of King St. on the west side. Drivers will find parking in the area, but make sure you watch the signs and park legally. There’s street parking around, or a big Green P lot on Fraser Ave. (one block to the east).

We look forward to seeing you here on Saturday!

An article on ecommerce-guide.com today says that eBay will no longer allow digital goods to be auctioned, instead requiring them to be listed using its classified ads format.

It is presumed by ecommerce-guide.com that domain names would fall into the digital goods category. From the article:

“EBay has not provided specific examples of items that are affected by the new policy, but it’s safe to assume that it covers all items delivered through Internet downloads or by e-mail. This includes goods such as e-books, graphics and digital photos, software, domain names, Web site templates, Web hosting and many other types of goods that are sold on eBay in digital format.”

I put the question to eBay support for clarification and was told that domain names were not considered digital goods and sellers could continue to list them for auction. We’ll try and get a more definitive statement from eBay over the next few days.

A check of eBay listings in the domain names category shows more than 3,700 items up for auction right now.

The official announcement from Brian Burke, Director, Global Feedback Policy at eBay says the move is being made to “preserve the integrity of the Feedback system.” Burke says because digital goods can be reproduced at little to no cost for the seller, the potential exists for Feedback Manipulation.

Predictably, there is a good amount of outcry about the change within eBay’s own community forums. Most of those opposed to the change are seeing a source of income disappear quite literally overnight. Some were in the business of selling ebooks, or PDF woodworking plans, for example.

As for the domain names, Bill Sweetman, General Manager, Domains Portfolio, Tucows, says if domain names end up being part of the digital goods category, he’ll be sad to see the listings go. He tells me that eBay auctions is one of the only places where portfolios of multiple domain names can be bought and sold in addition to individual domain names.

We’re pleased to introduce Joey Olson, our new Technical Support Manager. Joey has been a part of Tucows’ wholesale support group since 2001 and brings a wealth of experience to his new role. To help you get to know Joey a bit better, we’ve put together a short video introduction:

If you have trouble with the embedded Quicktime version above, you can download it here, or try the Windows Media version instead.

With Easter sneaking up on us early this year, some of us here in Toronto will be off for the Good Friday holiday tomorrow.

The picture of the giant easter egg is courtesy of Kevin Saff. That would be the world’s largest Easter egg, by the way, and it’s located in Vegreville, Alberta, Canada.

But before we go off and enjoy way too many of the tasty chocolate variety eggs, here’s a list of departments along with any special holiday hours for Friday, March 21, 2008:

As a Vendor Member of the Federation of Internet Service Providers of the Americas (FISPA), Tucows is looking forward to the FISPA Regional Meeting which is happening in Orlando, Florida, on tomorrow (Thursday, March 20). FISPA gives us a chance to meet with current and prospective customers for our range of Internet services.

Communication is a two-way street. Our membership in organizations like FISPA, and this kind of event in particular, provide us with a valuable opportunity to hear from members and to gain a better understanding of their needs. That, in turn, helps us to better tailor our services to those needs.

If you’re attending the meeting, either Max Lufer or Christian Goulart would be happy to talk to you about hosted email or domain names, and we’d love to hear what you’re looking for when it comes to providing quality Internet services to your customers.

Today’s Wall Street Journal has a nice article on the importance of choosing a good name to establish a strong corporate identity. The story highlights some interesting aspects when deciding on a company name and identity. It also talks about the importance of making sure that there is a tie between online presence and the corporate name by way of a solid, memorable domain name.

There are a number of case studies presented to illustrate the value of a good company name, and a couple of good examples where a poor choice of domain name led to problems. In one case, nanofluidics.com, the domain name was often confused and misspelled. In another example, Desert Moon Interactive chose the domain dm-i.com, with predictable results.

While the story focuses primarily on how to pick a good identity, it provides is a good list of dos and don’ts for domain name selection.

To summarize:

1. Make sure the domain name associated with your company name is available.
2. Make sure the domain name you select is both memorable and not confusing.
3. Keep in mind that you may have to go with an alternate name in the event that your first choice isn’t available as a domain name.
4. At the same time, don’t rule out a name because the exact URL isn’t available. Many users don’t remember the URL, and instead rely on Google to help them find the site they are looking for.

With domain names continuing to play an important role in establishing corporate identity, services like Premium Names that provide the ability to buy domain names in the secondary market will become even more important.

Our Name Suggestion tool, powered by DomainsBot and included free, gives searchers a valuable tool in establishing a corporate identity by giving domain name suggestions based on keyword searches.

Keep in mind that a domain name is more than just a URL. It’s often the starting point for corporate identity and providing tools and services like Premium Names and Name Suggest can be a great help to people looking to build a brand whether it’s offline or online.

I was confused when I got to work this morning and people were moving through the halls of Tucows with an unusual accessory: slices of delicious, bakery-fresh pie. There was talk of apple, cherry – maybe this was some pre-spring enthusiasm meant to cheer up a chilly gray day in Toronto?

As another slice wafted past, attached to a grinning owner, I’d had enough. I wanted answers. I asked someone what was up with the influx of pastries and was given the most obvious of answers: “Because Kari, it’s pie day.”

Pie day?

“Three point one four.” 3.14? March 14. Not pie Kari, pi!!! It all came together. Clearing the smoke from around my head I couldn’t help but laugh at this, the geekiest of holidays I’ve ever had the pleasure of celebrating. Turns out Pi Day has been a big thing since Larry Shaw started it at the San Francisco Exploratorium in 1988. Albert Einstein was born on March 14 and if you’ve applied to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology lately, today is the day to expect your acceptance letter.

So to all our readers we raise a slice and wish you a very happy and healthy Pi Day!

Thanks to flickr user hhwlib for making the delicious photo, available under a Creative Commons license.