March 2, 2004 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- A group of eight domain registrars, announced on Friday that they had filed a lawsuit against the Internet regulatory body the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) (icann.org), seeking to enjoin the organization from installing what the registrars call a "anti-consumer, anti-competitive and unnecessary" system for reassigning expired domain names.
Derek Newman, of Seattle-based law firm Newman and Newman, says the lawsuit names ICANN and VeriSign, and seeks to prevent the implementation of a "wait listing service" (WLS) designed by VeriSign, that would replace an already working system, and allegedly violate "a host of consumer protection laws."
"If WLS is allowed to stand, consumers will have fewer options, they will face paying a mandatory fee without a guarantee of success, and innovation will grind to a halt as competition fades," said Ric Chambers, managing principal of R. Lee Chambers, a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Filed in a US District Court in Los Angeles, the suit was expected to be an important part of discussions this week, as ICANN convened in Rome from March 2 to March 6. The vote on WLS is scheduled to take place March 6.
