Marc Ostrofsky

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marc Ostrofsky is a "domain name" investor, who has been called a "Technology Wildcatter" in the Houston Business Journal, [1], May 15, 2000. His venture capital firm has created a number of successful telecommunication, publishing and internet based companies. He is the co-founder of hundreds of web properties. [2] His best known enterprise is Internet REIT (iREIT) (also known as www.iREIT.com), which acquires, develops and sells internet traffic "wholesale" to Google for them to resell to others on a "PayPerClick" basis.[3]

He is known for his record sale of Business.com in 1999 for $7.5 million to eCompanies which landed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most expensive domain name ever sold, [4] although the final value of the sale was closer to $2 million [5]. Business.com was sold in 2008 for $345 Million [6] He coined the phrase "Domain names and web sites are the real estate of the Internet" when he bought Business.com for $150,000 in the mid 90's, which had been the most money ever paid for a domain name at that time. [7]

Ostrofsky founded five high tech Internet and telecommunications magazines and a dozen technology trade shows, which were later sold to Advanstar Publishing for $8,000,000. He then created and sold Multimedia Publishing Corporation (another firm holding magazines, trade shows and web sites) to Primedia (NYSE: PRM) for $35,000,000. [8]

He currently owns operating web sites including CuffLinks.com and is a major shareholder in Blinds.com, a $50 Million a year web site selling window blinds and window coverings. Blinds.com was ranked #186 on the Internet Retailer 500, and was the 10th fastest growing site on the list.

He was one of the early pioneers and founders of the voice mail/voice processing market, the private pay phone market, the operator services market, and the prepaid telephone card market in the United States. [9]

Prior to these ventures, Ostrofsky organized several internet and telecommunications magazines and technology trade shows. The assets of Information Publishing Corporation were later sold to Advanstar Publishing, and the assets of his next venture, MultiMedia Publishing Corporation were later sold to Primedia. [10]

He also founded www.idNames.com, an international domain name registry service that was sold to Network Solutions, and is now a division of VeriSign. [11]

He has been interviewed on major television networks, newspapers and wire services. He is a professional speaker domestically and internationally on entrepreneurship on the internet. He was a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA) and was the initial creator of the Internet Commerce Association (ICA). [12]

Ostrofsky is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a major in Marketing.

[edit] Conflicts with the Domain Registrars / Trademark Owners

In 2006, the owners of ask.com and Ask Jeeves! were approached by Ostrofsky about whether they would like to purchase ask.eu:

The Complainant goes on to explain that in March 2006 Mr Ostrofsky approached a representative of the Complainant's ultimate parent company, InterActive Corp., to enquire whether there would be interest in buying the disputed domain name from him or his company. In support of this point the Complainant produces a witness statement from Michael Filippone, formerly Director of Digital Assets IP for InterActive Corp., which provides that he met Mr Ostrofsky at an Internet conference in New York City during March 2006, whereupon Mr Ostrofsky mentioned that he had registered the disputed domain name, that a German entity had expressed interest in its acquisition and requested that given the Complainant's ultimate parent company's use of the ASK brand Mr Filippone might ask his employers if they were similarly interested. Mr Filippone goes on to allege that after this meeting Mr Ostrofsky forwarded to him a copy of the enquiry from the German entity by email.

While the owners of the domain (the "respondent") later denied that Ostrofsky had the rights to sell the domain and that the conversation was strictly casual, the Arbitration Center for .EU Disputes states:

In the absence of anything but a denial on the question of authority the Panel infers that Mr Ostrofsky was indeed connected with the Respondent and as a bare minimum had ostensible authority to deal on its behalf.

The domain was stripped from the respondent and awarded to the complainant with the following statement: "In light of the above together with the approach by Mr Ostrofsky which the Respondent has not adequately explained, the Panel finds that the disputed domain name was both registered and used in bad faith."

[13]

On March 23, 2007, iREIT, the domain holding company founded by Ostrofsky, was sued by Verizon who stated that iReit held and were profiting from more than 90 domain names that infringed on their trademark, including verizonwirelessgames.com. iReit turned the domains over to Verizon with the statement that they were unaware that they held them (their domain portfolio was too large for them to keep track of) and settled out of court. [14]

iReit was also named as a codefendant in a suit filed by Vulcan Golf against Google stating that Google's click through ad services encouraging violations of trademark through cybersquatting. The suit is currently seeking class action status. [15]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Tech wildcatter sells company for $35 million
  2. ^ Staking a claim on domains beyond dot-com August, 2006
  3. ^ [1] May, 2006
  4. ^ Most Valuable Domain Name May, 2005
  5. ^ Newsweek Article: Sticking to the business
  6. ^ R.H. Donnelley to buy Business.com for $345 mln.
  7. ^ Bellevue Domain Roundtable to Address Explosive Growth Market of “Internet Real Estate” January, 2006
  8. ^ Tech wildcatter sells company for $35 million October, 1999
  9. ^ Inside iREIT: How a Startup Company Became an Industry Giant Overnight August, 2006
  10. ^ Tech wildcatter sells company for $35 million October, 1999
  11. ^ Network Solutions' idNames Launches Domain Associate Program May, 2000
  12. ^ DN Journal Newsletter January, 2007
  13. ^ Arbitration center for .eu disputes case #2438
  14. ^ Verizon Sues iREIT for Alleged Cybersquatting
  15. ^ Vulcan Puts the Pinch on Domainers and Google


[edit] External links