Why Would Selling Equity In A Domain Name Deserve A Patent?

from the isn't-selling-equity-selling-equity? dept

Mon, Jul 6th 2009 4:19pm — Mike Masnick

Brad Feld, one of the increasing number of VCs who's grown skeptical of the value of patents (software patents in particular) alerts us that domain registrar GoDaddy has apparently applied for a patent on selling shares of equity in a domain name. You can see the application itself, which only has six claims and seems pretty straightforward. It's only an application, so there's still a decent chance this gets rejected -- but the very fact that anyone even thought it was worth applying for such a patent is quite telling. It's difficult to see what is new or unique about what's in the patent, other than it applies the standard process of selling equity in anything to a domain name.

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Filed Under: brad feld, domain names, equity, patent, patent application
Companies: godaddy

16 Comments

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BullJustin (profile), 6 Jul 2009 @ 4:47pm

It's a new trader's market
Seems like they want to control the ability to buy and sell domain names in an open market. Imagine if you could buy 20 shares in candy.com and then collect rent for someone using that domain name. It's actually a kind of interesting idea in that it would allow domain squatters another avenue to monetize their domain holdings.
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 6 Jul 2009 @ 4:48pm

But, but...
It's selling equity *on the Internet!*
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Jul 2009 @ 5:31pm

I understand how something like a house has equity, but I just don't understand how something as ephemeral as a domain name can have equity.
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- standingskeleton, 12 Jan 2012 @ 10:32am
  
  Response to: Anonymous Coward on Jul 6th, 2009 @ 5:31pm
  Word is the big players are strategizing the names spectrum as for their corporate weapons, is largely where monetization and valuations exceed so then go figure. Supply and demand if even it's 'i wouldn't waste resources on a worthless name. Some in fact are estimated in the millions. Some billions!
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Jul 2009 @ 5:37pm

You mean I can buy equity in snickers.com? Hmmmmm...Mortgage backed securities, anyone?
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Jul 2009 @ 5:42pm

Oh - Look

What a pretty bubble
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- anon, 6 Jul 2009 @ 7:39pm
  
  Re:
  That happens when the federal reserve sets the rate at which banks recieves money from it artifically low like after the dot com bust. Then they print money out of thin air (they've been doing it since they were founded in 1913 with the net result of having eroded %95 of the dollars value) that creates a false sense of economic prosperity that causes investors to invest in things they wouldn't invest in if they had a clearer picture of the actual economic situation. And like the rule of gravity everything that goes up, must come down eventually everyone discovers that the economic situation wasn't as good as it appeared and the bad investments made need to clear the system.
  
  If you want to know more read about austrian economics it is the only school of economics that predicted this situation as opposed the keynesian school whom the government continues to rely on and follow as we speak. In case you didn't know.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 7 Jul 2009 @ 5:22am
    
    Re: Re:
    Are you claiming that selling equity in a domain name is a good idea if the fed were to leave it alone ?
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Jul 2009 @ 6:15pm

People play the lottery too...
I am unsure of what "telling" is about this application. It is also a fact that people without a high school education spend more money each month on lottery tickets than people with a college education. I guess you can always hope, even when the odds are nearly impossible.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Jul 2009 @ 6:20pm

Bubbily bubble
Well, it's all imaginary value... high pagerank + high site content = get internet millionars!¡

Some companies have been doing this for some time. For example, Mike's little shindig is worth $25,000.

http://www.cubestat.com/www.techdirt.com

It's hard to see why Bobby Parsons needs to piss off the internets.
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teka, 6 Jul 2009 @ 10:15pm

This patent application follows the ever so popular concept of "X + Internet = New and patentable"

buying groceries? well.. try buying them.. online!
researching real estate? well.. try doing it Online!
Creating a new Dotcom Bubble? well.. try it.. online Again?

Patent office really needs to get their head around the idea that slapping "Online!" onto something does not make it new or special.
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- Standingskeleton, 14 Jan 2012 @ 9:42am
  
  Response to: teka on Jul 6th, 2009 @ 10:15pm
  All is reflective of the socalled creative financing that got housing real estate so way far off gaintrack. Now more property to molest. Why can't entrepreneur investors who want to enlarge their financial borders stay within the financial lines and limits under u.s. laws. When ready then welcome over to the world of property appreciation and what for example the estimated worth of a domain name like online.comtoday minmum $28.02 million. Dah!
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Mark, 13 Jul 2009 @ 3:11am

Oh
Interesting indeed.
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Meseret Hailu, 24 Aug 2009 @ 8:30pm

pan firend
Interesting idea. I want tree online sociology courses and certification.
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Domain services, 5 Jan 2010 @ 10:56am

Glad to see that you cared to share this thing with people, I think the term has become so popular that nobody seems to be here who is not much aware of it.
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Standing skeleton, 20 Jan 2012 @ 12:06pm

estimating worth of powerful domains
There are no inline defects or flaws to a domain name such as
weatherreference.com and considering each word single tiered as a dotcom is estimated to be worth far more than $10,000,000 other than two or three
We though can reference' (like yahoonews.com $300 million more than yahoo.com) we only lack precedent in starting out to raise two or even three tiered name conciousness abroad. Of course we're speaking to only names broadly acknowledged worth something notable. Randy
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