Executives from Google, Yahoo, and dozens of pharmaceutical companies are in Washington DC today appealing to the Food and Drug Administration to expand online drug advertising. Although drug companies spend huge sums of money on marketing and advertising in media outlets such as television and print, they hardly spend money online.

According to a Yahoo Finance article where this news was reported, pharmaceutical companies “spent more than $4.3 billion on patient-targeted advertisements last year, though online marketing represented about 3 percent of that amount.”

If their budgets for online marketing grew to the same percentage as most other advertisers, this would be a boon to web publishers who would be able to display drug-related advertisements with their Adsense accounts, and parked domain names could have more competitive PPC bids.

Don’t get your hopes up yet though. According to experts, the FDA isn’t expected to make policy changes until 2011.

When you are building a website, one thing I think you can do to help build your brand and readership is to share personal stories with your readers. If they have a vested interest in getting to know more about you, they will also probably be more interested in visiting your website and referring it to friends.

This morning I was checking out Kennel.com, a CCIN website. I read the story about David’s first experience with a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Although I couldn’t relate to the death of a dog, I immediately thought about my dog, Lucy.

Yesterday, when my wife and I were walking her off leash in Central Park, she decided to check out an area that was under construction and cordoned off. The area has thick brush, and we couldn’t find her for close to 10 minutes, but it felt like much longer. Eventually, my wife saw a construction worker sitting under a veranda and called down to him to ask if he had seen a dog. He looked behind him, and said, “you mean this one right here?”

Anyhow, if you can write an article or story on your site where readers can relate, they will probably return – and/or comment, which could stimulate further conversation. This is one reason why it’s good to focus on developing websites on domain names with topics of interest to you.

The  owner of the domain name NewYorkNewYork.com has been sued by New York-New York Hotel & Casino, LLC for trademark infringement, cybersquatting, unfair competition, trademark dilution, and other related complaints. The lawsuit, which can be downloaded from the Las Vegas Sun website (pdf download), was filed in the state of Nevada on November 6, 2009.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs have alleged that,

“Recently, Plaintiff learned that the Infringing Domain Name has been linked to a website that prominently features the NEW YORK NEW YORK LAS VEGAS HOTEL & CASINO trademark (the “Infringing Website”). Specifically, the NEW YORKNEW YORK LAS VEGAS HOTEL & CASINO mark appears in the banner of the Infringing Website, next to a graphic of Plaintiff’s New York- New York Hotel. The Infringing Website does not include a disclaimer explaining that it has no affiliation with Plaintiff. When Internet users click on the banner, they are redirected to a website enabling them to book hotel reservations at Plaintiff’s New York-New York Hotel.”

In looking at the current website which contains various New York City related banners, it appears to me that they are using Ian.com as a booking engine for the site. Ian.com is the Expedia travel affiliate program, and they work with hotels throughout the world to book reservations. When a visitor uses the booking engine, they are able to search for cars, flights, and hotels throughout the world, including Las Vegas, where the New York-New York Hotel & Casino is located, all the while staying on the NewYorkNewYork.com website.

It’s unfortunate for the defendant, as I am not sure of how much control he would have over the results served by the booking engine. Further, it would seem advantageous for the hotel to be listed, but I imagine they would rather control the domain name if possible. From the looks of it, I don’t see how the owner of the domain name is at fault, although I am not an attorney nor do I have a legal background.

One complication for the current owner is that the lawsuit indicates the Hotel contacted a previous owner expressing concern over something similar that was done in the past. According to a screenshot on Archive.org from February of 2006, there were links to the New York-New York Hotel & Casino on the home page of the website. However, it doesn’t appear that the current owner is doing anything in bad faith. In fact, New York City is the default search when a visitor lands on the site.

I think this will be an interesting case to watch, since there are quite a few geodomain owners who use booking engines like Ian.com and WC Travel for their hotel results, and there are probably plenty of domain names that could potentially be infringing on certain marks.

I announced the WhyPark charity auction after speaking with Craig Rowe a couple of weeks ago, and more details have been released. Please have a look at the information below, and remember, All proceeds will go to the charity chosen by the highest single bidder in the auction.

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Rick Latona Auctions announced today it will donate its services and provide the online auction platform for the WhyPark Charity Domain Auction scheduled for December 7^th through the December 11^th, 2009.  The WhyPark Charity Auction will be the first online auction to utilize Rick Latona’s new beta auction platform which will be in an all new location, www.LATONAS.com.

WhyPark’s charity domain auction will consist of up to 50 domain names, with no reserve price, all donated by domain name industry leaders.  The proceeds from the auction will be given to a socially-responsible charity chosen by the highest single bidder in the auction.   To submit domain names for the auction and for complete details, visit http://www.whypark.com/auction.

“We are excited to support the WhyPark Charity Auction” stated Rick Latona, President of Rick Latona Auctions.  “It is also the perfect opportunity for us to test drive our new Latonas.com auction platform. Since it is an online only auction with no live auctioneer, it should be a low stress environment. Customers will be able to help people through The WhyPark Charity Auction , pick up a great new name or two and get a sneak preview of what we are up to here in Atlanta”.

“The WhyPark charity auction is simply about raising funds for a charity in need.” stated Craig Rowe, President of WhyPark Technology Services.  “The domain name community raises funds for several charities worldwide and this is another opportunity to provide financial assistance to a worthwhile organization of the highest winning bidder’s choice.  We are excited to partner with Rick Latona Auctions, a leader in the domain industry to help make this a successful auction.”