Keywords Threaten Domain Name System

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November 09, 1998 (2:26 PM EST)

By Malcolm Maclachlan,

The domain name system may soon be a thing of the past, and that worries Dan Parisi, owner of several notable Internet domain names.

Parisi is perhaps the best-known domain name speculator. His Whitehouse.com website is one of the most successful pornographic sites on the Internet. He also owns domains that range from the generic, like Mysport.com and Mystocks.com, to the corporate, like Wallstreetjournal.com and Microsoftsucks.com, as well as celebrities, including madonna.com and alyssamilano.com.

Between February and April of this year, Parisi negotiated with America Online, which wanted to buy some of his domains. The online service's final offer was just $1,000 for each domain, so he turned them down.

Why was the bid so low? According to Parisi, AOL officials said the entire domain name system will be gone within two years, all because of keywords.

Keyword systems let Web users type words in the address box on a browser or search engine and go directly to the website. The concept was pioneered by a company called Centraal, which signed a deal with Alta Vista in May. The next month, Netscape followed with its Communicator 4.5 browser, which has smart browsing functions, including a keyword system.

Last week, Microsoft released a beta version of Internet Explorer 5.0 that includes the keyword functions.

The problem with keywords, said Parisi, is that they avoid some domains without letting the user know. But that's exactly what Netscape wants. The company has said Whitehouse.com is the type of site its browser avoids, sending users who type "whitehouse" in the address box to Whitehouse.gov, President Clinton's official site.

That's a trademark violation, according to Parisi, and he's taking action. His lawyers have posted a complaint document at his Netscapesucks.com site and are inviting other website owners to join a possible lawsuit against Netscape.

If keywords become a principle means by which people navigate, Parisi said, the domain name system will be subverted and the makers of the most popular browsers -- Netscape and Microsoft -- will be able to charge a premium for ownership of popular keywords.

Netscape hasn't replied to Parisi's lawyers, but the company has emphasized that if a user types in a complete URL, the browser will take them there. Typing in Whitehouse.com, for instance, will still bring up Parisi's site. Netscape also said many of the keywords are taken directly from Internic's domain name registry.

Parisi admitted that Netscape is still working out some of smart browsing's kinks. The keyword "accord" used to link directly to a Honda website, for instance; now it takes the user to "accord.com."

One veteran technology lawyer doesn't think Parisi's case would stand much of a chance in court.

"If I'm wrong about that, it would have significant effects not just on Netscape but on search engines," said attorney Rich Gray, an antitrust and intellectual-property specialist with Bergeson, Eliopoulos, Grady & Gray, in San Jose, Calif.

In fact, many have said Parisi himself, by registering domain names, has already violated trademark laws. Parisi bought about 250 domain names in 1996. In recent months, the rights of domain name "squatters" like Parisi have been challenged in court, and trademark owners usually come out winning.

In February, Parisi received a letter from the White House concerning his use of the Whitehouse.com domain. But the site has remained online and Parisi is seeking a trademark on the name.