SnapNames and LocalWhois Launch NameRecover to Help IP Community Acquire, Protect Brand-Related...

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

INTA 124th ANNUAL MEETING

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 2002

Free service identifies multitude of variations of brand-related

domain names available for back-order or deserving of protection

As cyberspace

trademark protection issues continue to move upward on enterprise priority lists, domain name infrastructure technology developer SnapNames(TM) and LocalWhois(TM), the world's most trusted domain finder service, announced they have teamed to launch the NameRecover(TM) new name generation service on June 3, 2002.

Designed to help intellectual property (IP) owners identify and register or back-order trademark-related domain names, the free service, available at www.snapnames.com, lets users generate from brand concepts a comprehensive list of domain names that may represent trademark infringement. Once a name universe is identified, NameRecover users can:

-- Attempts to secure a domain name the millisecond it becomes available for registration; and

-- Notifies a registrant of any unauthorized registration change attempt -- perhaps by cyber-terrorists, hackers, or former employees -- allowing ample time to solve the problem before a false record is propagated worldwide.

Already fully implemented worldwide by brand consulting organizations, domain name registrars, and other resellers, the SnapBack(TM) service is widely known as the domain industry's most effective acquisition tool for expiring domain names. A SnapBack subscription, which is independent of a domain name registration, instantaneously:

-- Attempts to secure a domain name the millisecond it becomes available for registration; and

-- Notifies a registrant of any unauthorized registration change attempt -- perhaps by cyber-terrorists, hackers, or former employees -- allowing ample time to solve the problem before a false record is propagated worldwide.

"NameRecover is a timely service for trademark owners," said SnapNames CEO Ray King. "Through this partnership with LocalWhois, trademark owners now have a sensible and easy-to-use way to first, identify a much broader list of names that may deserve protection, and second, recover those names through our SnapBack back-order solution."

"Giving customers useful tools like NameRecover and SnapBack embodies our mission to be a leading-edge intellectual property resource," said Giuseppe Ruzzini, president of LocalWhois. "I'm pleased our customers have access to this valuable service that allows them to monitor business-essential domain name activity and protect their current brands."

About SnapNames

SnapNames.com, Inc., the provider of domain name infrastructure technology and authoritative industry data and analysis, uses its patent-pending technologies to facilitate an equal-opportunity secondary domain name marketplace. For more information, visit www.snapnames.com or call 800/385-4075. SnapNames is headquartered in Portland, Ore.

About LocalWhois

LocalWhois.com currently provides the most powerful and reliable tool available for tracking expiring domain names. Through specific search parameters, the company's proprietary technology allows customers to localize relevant domain names, information about their status and the names' expiration dates and hours. LocalWhois is headquartered in Rome, Italy.