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Right Of The Dot(TM) (ROTD) Teams up With Escrow.com(TM) to Provide Neutral Auction & Mediation Resolution for gTLD String Contention
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, November 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Domain Name consultants RightOfTheDot, LLC, announce today their independent private
auction resolution and mediation services for competing gTLD applicants.
Hot on the heels of ICANN's welcome announcement of the drawing process, Right Of The
Dot is launching a private auction and mediation service to accelerate the process of
settling claims between applicants for the same new gTLD string, in turn reducing the time
it takes for new gTLDs to go live. Right Of The Dot has been granted a special Auction
License
[http://rightofthedot.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ROTD-Auction-Business-License-for-Contention-Resolution-Services.pdf ]
, which specifically allows them to conduct TLD Auction
Services for new gTLDs.
To further support new gTLD applicants in their auction process, ROTD has secured an
exclusive partnership with Escrow.com [http://www.escrow.com ] for the escrowing of funds
for the deposits and distributions of funds for TLD auctions. With a consistent A+ rating
with the BBB, Escrow.com has been voted the Best Domain Escrow Service for the past 5
years; is the only fully licensed online escrow provider in the United States and has
processed over $1 Billion dollars in transactions. This unique partnership will enable
Right of the Dot to offer applicants many financial options such as interest bearing
accounts, so their escrowed funds can earn interest over any given period. "Escrow.com is
extremely proud to be working as a partner with Right Of The Dot," said Escrow.com
President and Managing Director, Brandon Abbey. "We have known the principals for many
years and admire their work. ROTD has clearly embraced innovation and we look forward to
helping them succeed in this very exciting business venture."
Right Of The Dot's combined knowledge, experience and success over their 29 years in
the industry, includes conducting tens of thousands of auctions and hundreds of millions
of dollars in domain related transactions, both live and online. Utilizing their unique
perspective and neutrality, they offer valuable success fee-based mediation and
partnership brokering to contentious applicants as a first option in an effort to avoid
auction altogether. When auction is the only solution, ROTD offer new gTLD applicants
guidance on how to best mitigate risk vs. reward through the auction process.
Right Of The Dot auction fees are competitive, starting at 4% depending on the auction
type, number of applicants for a particular extension, and the amount of the winning bid.
The Right Of The Dot auction model would see auction proceeds paid back to the auction
participants rather than to ICANN. Resolving contention early will enable losing
participants to withdraw their application from the ICANN evaluation process and receive a
70% application fee refund if their auction is held prior to the release of ICANN's
Initial Evaluation and 35% if held after. The auction will be conducted at the time of the
applicant's choice rather than when ICANN decides to hold them.
"A private auction or mediation resolution streamlines the process of winning or
losing the TLD. It enables winners to begin planning for the operation of the extension
and provides losing bidders closure so they can move on to other TLD opportunities," says
Monte Cahn, President of RightOfTheDot.com.
"Unlike other auction offerings, ROTD have several auction models we intend to use,
depending on the choice of the applicants for a particular extension. We understand that
we are dealing with entrepreneurs with a variety of opinions on business models and
extension value, unlike a regulated commodity where you would normally see standard
industry auction processes," added Cahn.
ROTD will provide 3 main types of gTLD auction (although custom auctions can be
arranged if requested):
Second-price sealed-bid auctions: Bidders submit simultaneous sealed bids to the
auction house, the highest bidder wins the rights to the TLD and pays the second-highest
bid. That bid is then divided either equally by the number of non-winning participants, or
in proportion to the amount of each non-winning bidder's sealed bid.
Ascending-bid auctions: These auctions are carried out interactively in real time,
with bidders present either physically (live auction) or electronically (online auction).
The seller gradually raises the price, bidders drop out until the final bidder remains,
and the final party wins the TLD at this final price.
Live Oral auctions: Bidders shout out prices or submit them electronically. This form
of auction will be appropriate when each of the applicants in a contention set agree on a
specific time.
In most cases, auctions will take place after the ICANN's Initial Evaluation is
released, the Objection period ends and after GAC early warnings are issued. However, in
some cases, it will be appropriate to conduct the auction prior to those dates if all
parties agree.
Further details on the auctions and how they work can be found at RightOfTheDot
[http://www.rightofthedot.com ] or contact monte@RightOfTheDot.com directly.
About Right Of The Dot(TM)
The principals of Right Of The Dot have extensive experience in the domain industry.
They are experts in Domain Auctions and have been instrumental in premium domain
strategies and the launch of many TLDs including .Co, .Me, .XXX, .info, .biz, .me, .asia
and .mobi, over the last 15 years. This unique experience of working with all of the major
new TLD launches over the past 10 years allows Right Of The Dot to offer new gTLD
applicants guidance on how to best mitigate risk vs. reward through the auction process.
About Escrow.com(TM)
Headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, Escrow.com, a privately held company, has
pioneered the process of online escrow services. The Company, founded in 1999 by Fidelity
National Financial, has established itself as the leading provider of secure business and
consumer transaction management on the Internet. All escrow services offered on the
Website are provided independently and exclusively by Internet Escrow Services (SM) (IES),
one of the operating subsidiaries of Escrow.com. IES is fully licensed and accredited as
an escrow company and is subject to compliance with all applicable nationwide escrow
regulations.
Right Of The Dot
CONTACT: Monte Cahn, Phone: +1-954-288-6810
Right Of The Dot(TM) (ROTD) Teams up With Escrow.com(TM) to Provide Neutral Auction & Mediation Resolution for gTLD String Contention
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, November 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Domain Name consultants RightOfTheDot, LLC, announce today their independent private
auction resolution and mediation services for competing gTLD applicants.
Hot on the heels of ICANN's welcome announcement of the drawing process, Right Of The
Dot is launching a private auction and mediation service to accelerate the process of
settling claims between applicants for the same new gTLD string, in turn reducing the time
it takes for new gTLDs to go live. Right Of The Dot has been granted a special Auction
License
[http://rightofthedot.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/ROTD-Auction-Business-License-for-Contention-Resolution-Services.pdf ]
, which specifically allows them to conduct TLD Auction
Services for new gTLDs.
To further support new gTLD applicants in their auction process, ROTD has secured an
exclusive partnership with Escrow.com [http://www.escrow.com ] for the escrowing of funds
for the deposits and distributions of funds for TLD auctions. With a consistent A+ rating
with the BBB, Escrow.com has been voted the Best Domain Escrow Service for the past 5
years; is the only fully licensed online escrow provider in the United States and has
processed over $1 Billion dollars in transactions. This unique partnership will enable
Right of the Dot to offer applicants many financial options such as interest bearing
accounts, so their escrowed funds can earn interest over any given period. "Escrow.com is
extremely proud to be working as a partner with Right Of The Dot," said Escrow.com
President and Managing Director, Brandon Abbey. "We have known the principals for many
years and admire their work. ROTD has clearly embraced innovation and we look forward to
helping them succeed in this very exciting business venture."
Right Of The Dot's combined knowledge, experience and success over their 29 years in
the industry, includes conducting tens of thousands of auctions and hundreds of millions
of dollars in domain related transactions, both live and online. Utilizing their unique
perspective and neutrality, they offer valuable success fee-based mediation and
partnership brokering to contentious applicants as a first option in an effort to avoid
auction altogether. When auction is the only solution, ROTD offer new gTLD applicants
guidance on how to best mitigate risk vs. reward through the auction process.
Right Of The Dot auction fees are competitive, starting at 4% depending on the auction
type, number of applicants for a particular extension, and the amount of the winning bid.
The Right Of The Dot auction model would see auction proceeds paid back to the auction
participants rather than to ICANN. Resolving contention early will enable losing
participants to withdraw their application from the ICANN evaluation process and receive a
70% application fee refund if their auction is held prior to the release of ICANN's
Initial Evaluation and 35% if held after. The auction will be conducted at the time of the
applicant's choice rather than when ICANN decides to hold them.
"A private auction or mediation resolution streamlines the process of winning or
losing the TLD. It enables winners to begin planning for the operation of the extension
and provides losing bidders closure so they can move on to other TLD opportunities," says
Monte Cahn, President of RightOfTheDot.com.
"Unlike other auction offerings, ROTD have several auction models we intend to use,
depending on the choice of the applicants for a particular extension. We understand that
we are dealing with entrepreneurs with a variety of opinions on business models and
extension value, unlike a regulated commodity where you would normally see standard
industry auction processes," added Cahn.
ROTD will provide 3 main types of gTLD auction (although custom auctions can be
arranged if requested):
Second-price sealed-bid auctions: Bidders submit simultaneous sealed bids to the
auction house, the highest bidder wins the rights to the TLD and pays the second-highest
bid. That bid is then divided either equally by the number of non-winning participants, or
in proportion to the amount of each non-winning bidder's sealed bid.
Ascending-bid auctions: These auctions are carried out interactively in real time,
with bidders present either physically (live auction) or electronically (online auction).
The seller gradually raises the price, bidders drop out until the final bidder remains,
and the final party wins the TLD at this final price.
Live Oral auctions: Bidders shout out prices or submit them electronically. This form
of auction will be appropriate when each of the applicants in a contention set agree on a
specific time.
In most cases, auctions will take place after the ICANN's Initial Evaluation is
released, the Objection period ends and after GAC early warnings are issued. However, in
some cases, it will be appropriate to conduct the auction prior to those dates if all
parties agree.
Further details on the auctions and how they work can be found at RightOfTheDot
[http://www.rightofthedot.com ] or contact monte@RightOfTheDot.com directly.
About Right Of The Dot(TM)
The principals of Right Of The Dot have extensive experience in the domain industry.
They are experts in Domain Auctions and have been instrumental in premium domain
strategies and the launch of many TLDs including .Co, .Me, .XXX, .info, .biz, .me, .asia
and .mobi, over the last 15 years. This unique experience of working with all of the major
new TLD launches over the past 10 years allows Right Of The Dot to offer new gTLD
applicants guidance on how to best mitigate risk vs. reward through the auction process.
About Escrow.com(TM)
Headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, Escrow.com, a privately held company, has
pioneered the process of online escrow services. The Company, founded in 1999 by Fidelity
National Financial, has established itself as the leading provider of secure business and
consumer transaction management on the Internet. All escrow services offered on the
Website are provided independently and exclusively by Internet Escrow Services (SM) (IES),
one of the operating subsidiaries of Escrow.com. IES is fully licensed and accredited as
an escrow company and is subject to compliance with all applicable nationwide escrow
regulations.
Right Of The Dot
CONTACT: Monte Cahn, Phone: +1-954-288-6810