VeriSign to control ".com" domain until 2012

[mandy]

VeriSign Inc. said on Monday it would maintain control of the lucrative ".com" Internet domain until 2012 in return for dropping an antitrust lawsuit against the nonprofit body that oversees the Internet's addressing system.

The agreement settles a long-running dispute between the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or
ICANN, and the most powerful company under its jurisdiction. The settlement comes at a time when ICANN is under attack from China,
Iran and other countries that want more direct control over the domain-name system that guides traffic around the Internet.

full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051024/wr_n...icann_dc_1

[regic]

ICANN and VeriSign are facing antitrust lawsuits over a proposed agreement between the two that settles an ongoing legal dispute and gives VeriSign control of the .com domain registry until 2012.

According to the World Association of Domain Name Developers (WADND) the two bodies have engaged in antitrust activities, including conspiracy, monopolisation, illegal price fixing and monopolising the .com and .net domain name markets.

A second suit, filed by the Coalition for ICANN Transparency (CFIT) seeks to preserve the status quo and to prevent VeriSign from expanding its control over the .com and .net top-level domain name registries into highly competitive downstream and adjacent markets, such as the resale of expired domain names.

full article: http://www.out-law.com/page-6402

[accentnepal]

There are millions of .com domains, each renewed for (I think the wholesale is about) $6 per year.

The only thing they do is keep the list.

Great work if you can get it.

[jezebel]

It also gave VeriSign control of the .com domain until 2012, and permitted the registry to raise prices by 7% a year from 2007.

an anti-competitive agreement with ICANN will raise costs another 50% over the next six years

Say goodbye to under $10 domain registrations  :hoxmassnow9:

[Kristijntje]

ICANN releases revised .com agreement:

Internet overseeing body ICANN has released a revised contract for all dotcoms which it hopes will finally end a huge legal fight at the heart of the Internet.

The new agreement - that was hailed back in October as bringing in a "new era" for the Internet by ICANN head Paul Twomey - contains several important alterations.

They are:

    * Removal of a transaction fee that would have been charged to all companies selling a dotcom domain
    * A new direct contribution that VeriSign pays to ICANN direct
    * Some limits on VeriSign's price-rising powers
    * Reduced scope for VeriSign to sell personalised data to third-parties
    * Marginally increased control over VeriSign's ability to introduce changes to the existing dotcom business model

full article: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/30/..._contract/

related topic: Verisign to control .com TLD until 2012 http://community.tuliptools.com/index.ph...965.0.html

[jezebel]

However, the new agreement still provides VeriSign with a presumptive right of renewal - meaning it is effectively given permanent control of the dotcom registry, and it also allows the company to seize control of all expiring domains

Under the new agreement, VeriSign will seize control of all expiring domains and will be entitled to sell them through its own system - keeping 10 per cent of the proceeds

Total shit. That fucking sucks. 

Verisign settlement http://www.icann.org/topics/verisign-settlement.htm
http://www.icann.org/topics/vrsn-settlem...9jan06.pdf

[regic]

Under the new agreement, VeriSign will seize control of all expiring domains and will be entitled to sell them through its own system - keeping 10 per cent of the proceeds

If CFIT loses its lawsuit, ICANN and Verisign will put many companies out of business with that part of the deal.

[mandy]

The ICANN/Verisign deal isn't meeting with a lot of approval.  A sampling of comments from ICANN's message board:

Isn't it wonderful how two parties can come together
to amicably settle their differences by jointly
deciding to screw an innocent and defenseless third
party instead?  It reminds me of Ben Franklin's
comment about two wolves and a sheep voting on what to
have for dinner. 

The first wolf, a corporation that takes in more than
$1 billion in annual revenue, has threatened a costly
and ongoing lawsuit against the second wolf whose
annual budget is a pittance by comparison.

The first wolf wants to make even more money and seeks
to be granted the right to fleece a herd of sheep in
perpetuity.

The second wolf fears being crippled by ongoing
litigation and being damaged further by negative PR
campaigns.

They collude... 

full post: http://forum.icann.org/lists/revised-set...00004.html

This contract will be the direct result of the next
.com bust if signed. Literally.. You will be wiping
out an entire industry with the stroke of a pen.
Rewarding Verisign for it's past wrong doings.

full post: http://forum.icann.org/lists/revised-set...00003.html

The sale of traffic data provisions is unacceptable. Notice that the
language specifically permits access to data on "non existent domain
names" for "promoting the sale of domain names". In other words, if
example.com is getting a lot of type-in traffic, and is unregistered,
VeriSign could sell that data, thereby promoting low-cost
cybersquatting...

full post: http://forum.icann.org/lists/revised-set...00000.html

All comments on the deal: http://forum.icann.org/lists/revised-settlement/

[jezebel]

Settlement Shmeddlement! Verisign sucks!

[regic]

[quote author=jezebel link=topic=1507.msg8766#msg8766 date=1138932214]

Settlement Shmeddlement! Verisign sucks!

[/quote]

They've always sucked.  This'll make them suckier.