By Tony Hallett, 7 February 2000 16:26
NEWS A US Internet expert has set up a Web site selling companies generic and brand-specific URLs which apply to their businesses, but which they don't realise are available. John Zehr, founder and president of NameZebra.com, has sold names such as bestsecretaries.com and audiorecordings.com, often for $2,000 to $3,000 a time. He has had enquiries from organisations such as Dell, ESPN, NBC and home shopping network QVC, as he touts monikers such as Dellcast and cnbcnewscast.com. Zehr denies he is taking advantage. He calls himself a 'domain name speculator', and stresses that for interested parties, he is drawing attention to names that will soon have to be given up again, at which stage someone else will be able to buy them. He said: "I'm drawing attention to the fact that companies have to be conscious of this issue." Zehr denies he is cyber-squatting, which he defines as intentionally reserving names with the aim of extorting money from trademark owners, which he calls "legally and morally kinda cheap". He launched NameZebra.com following experiences he had a year ago when he set up a service to allow people to memorialise lost loved ones, even streaming funerals over the Web.
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