Domain .XYZ, that leads among all new domains by a number of registrations, has become famous because of its aggressive marketing strategies. It is well known that a major part of names registered in .XYZ were given away for free. Marketing strategy of .XYZ is not far behind. In the end of last year .XYZ released a video that “clearly demonstrated” why .XYZ is better than .COM. In the video appeared a 30-year-old Honda in a sad condition with COM written on the license plate. Another car stopped right next to it. It was a luxury sports car Audi (obviously with XYZ written on the license plate). Then the Audi drove away really fast. Off-camera announcer said that it was impossible to find a suitable name in the domain with a 30-year history and millions of registrations and that .XYZ was the best alternative.
The video was not overlooked by Verisign that operates .COM. The company filed a lawsuit against XYZ.com, it accuses the registry of unfair advertising. Last week XYZ.com registry appealed to the court to avoid full-scale trial. In a very lengthy document .XYZ lawyers try to explain that advertising videos are not “not statements of fact but rather mere puffery, hyperbole, predictive, or assertions of opinion”. Moreover, the document contains some funny statements. For example, that advertising video actually shows Verisign in a favorable light, since “some might view the old Honda in the video with the “COM” license plate as trusty and reliable, and the Audi sports car with “XYZ” as high maintenance, impracticable, and too trendy”.
The case still has unclear prospects, however, it is obvious already that Verisign managed to scare the zealous competitor. A lengthy petition clearly shows that XYZ.com is afraid that a full-scale trial (not to mention the defeat) will cost the company a lot and is ready to back down.
