ICANN Wins First Round Of WLS Fight

[THESTOKIE]

A federal judge has denied a preliminary injunction filed against the organization that oversees Internet domain names and addresses.

In a ruling released Thursday, a federal court in Los Angeles dismissed charges filed by two domain name registrars that alleged the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) had engaged in anticompetitive practices. The charges were filed after ICANN said it would hand over the management of expired domain names ending in .com and .net, called the Wait-Listing Service, to online security company VeriSign. The plaintiffs claimed that ICANN breached its obligations because many other parties had objected to its proposal.

The court ruled, however, that the wait-list change would not harm competition or the public trust.

"Accordingly, it appears that the implementation of WLS has the potential to benefit registries, registrars who do not currently offer wait-listing services, and most importantly the public," the ruling read.

ICANN's decision to hand over the WLS to VeriSign launched a debate that expanded beyond the court room. In June, two members of the House of Representatives introduced a bill to block the move.

VeriSign, which has a government-granted monopoly as the main database administrator for .com and .net domain names and addresses, recently has been sparring with ICANN over the company's controversial "Site Finder" service, which snared traffic to nonexistent Internet sites and forwarded it to VeriSign's own servers. The service is now at least temporarily on hold.

 

[Dave_Z]

Re: verisign V icann

Originally posted by THESTOKIE
A federal judge has denied a preliminary injunction filed against the organization that oversees Internet domain names and addresses.

In a ruling released Thursday, a federal court in Los Angeles dismissed charges filed by two domain name registrars that alleged the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) had engaged in anticompetitive practices. The charges were filed after ICANN said it would hand over the management of expired domain names ending in .com and .net, called the Wait-Listing Service, to online security company VeriSign. The plaintiffs claimed that ICANN breached its obligations because many other parties had objected to its proposal.

The court ruled, however, that the wait-list change would not harm competition or the public trust.

"Accordingly, it appears that the implementation of WLS has the potential to benefit registries, registrars who do not currently offer wait-listing services, and most importantly the public," the ruling read.

ICANN's decision to hand over the WLS to VeriSign launched a debate that expanded beyond the court room. In June, two members of the House of Representatives introduced a bill to block the move.

VeriSign, which has a government-granted monopoly as the main database administrator for .com and .net domain names and addresses, recently has been sparring with ICANN over the company's controversial "Site Finder" service, which snared traffic to nonexistent Internet sites and forwarded it to VeriSign's own servers. The service is now at least temporarily on hold.

 

[Delete]

So does this mean WLS is a greenlight?

 

[RJ]

ICANN wins Wait Listing ruling
17/11/2003

ICANN, the body responsible for the internet’s domain naming system, won the first round of a court battle on Thursday when a federal judge dismissed an attempt to block the implementation of a plan for a domain name waiting list service.

Many domain name registrars offer a service where consumers pay a fee to 'reserve' a domain name that is already registered. If and when that registration is not renewed, the registrar will attempt to get it on the consumer's behalf.

No guarantee is given, and the end result is that consumers often pay several registrars to back-order the same name. This secondary domain name market is very competitive, and prices are relatively low.

The Wait Listing Service, or WLS, was proposed earlier this year by VeriSign, the company that controls the database of all .com and .net domain name registrations, and approved by ICANN. But the WLS has been criticised by a coalition of domain name registrars and resellers, who argue that the new scheme would kill their secondary domain name business model.

Under the ICANN-approved scheme, all registrars must apply for expiring domain names through VeriSign. According to the Domain Justice Coalition this will cost $24 for registration, with the registrars' costs on top of that and a further payment needed to actually purchase the domain name.

In July the coalition sought a temporary restraining order against ICANN, challenging its failure to comply with its own internal decision-making process requirements when it approved implementation of the WLS in the face of opposition from domain name registrars, resellers and consumers.

On Thursday the Court ruled in favour of ICANN, stating: “the implementation of WLS has the potential to benefit registries, registrars who do not currently offer wait-listing services, and, most importantly, the public”.

Judge Walters added that the coalition had “failed to demonstrate either the possibility of irreparable injury or that the balance of hardships tips sharply in their favour."

The case is expected to go to trial early next year.

 

[Dave_Z]

Originally posted by Delete
So does this mean WLS is a greenlight?

For now, Delete. Only for now....

We'll see what happens....

 

[dnbuydomain]

Originally posted by Delete
So does this mean WLS is a greenlight?

Yes - eNom is already selling pre-WLS order under "First Dibs".

I tried to order a First Dibs and I got a system error. Is eNom WLS system ready available?

 

[Riceman]

I do not think it is formerly approved. I think those registrars who have the namestore platform already integrated can start accepting WLS subscriptions

 

[Delete]

Holy shit! So does this mean all the drop catchers are out of business?

 

[dnbuydomain]

Holy shit! It means that drop catchers like pool.com, dropwizard.com, and al. are in trouble.

Is Dnjournal.com a drop catcher too?

SnapNames is the king of all drop catchers. It appears VeriSign & ICANN will give the drop catcher crown to their brainchild on new king day. Losers like Dotster’s Namewinner, eNom's Dropclub, and Godaddy's backorder will have to accept the fact that WLS is imminent. Agreed?

 

[DrWho]

Originally posted by dnbuydomain
Holy shit! It means that drop catchers like pool.com, dropwizard.com, and al. are in trouble.

Is Dnjournal.com a drop catcher too?

SnapNames is the king of all drop catchers. It appears VeriSign & ICANN will give the drop catcher crown to their brainchild on new king day. Losers like Dotster’s Namewinner, eNom's Dropclub, and Godaddy's backorder will have to accept the fact that WLS is imminent. Agreed?

Maybe not...

http://www.enom.com/tlds/default.asp

 

[dnbuydomain]

I got a system error while trying to buy Dibs at eNom.
They better fix their system before they run ouf of Dibs.

 

[Dave_Z]

Originally posted by dnbuydomain
Holy shit! It means that drop catchers like pool.com, dropwizard.com, and al. are in trouble.

Is Dnjournal.com a drop catcher too?

SnapNames is the king of all drop catchers. It appears VeriSign & ICANN will give the drop catcher crown to their brainchild on new king day. Losers like Dotster’s Namewinner, eNom's Dropclub, and Godaddy's backorder will have to accept the fact that WLS is imminent. Agreed?

Until the courts decide otherwise, what choice does everyone have?

Some of my friends tell me that come that day, the remaining Snapnames accounts will somewhat be carried over to VeriSign's WLS.

Hmmmmm.....

 

[TheWatcher]

Yes the snapnames will be carried over to WLS. What about the godaddy backorder account?

TW

 

[dnbuydomain]

Godaddy WLS system is ready, but I do not think it is formerly introduced to their customer base.

I hope that ICANN staff facilitate a speedy resolution that results in the best possible service for Dotster's namewinner not the least of which are end-users.

 

[dnbuydomain]

The WLS ballgame will not be televised, brother.

Originally posted by davezan
Until the courts decide otherwise, what choice does everyone have?

The WLS ballgame will take place at the edge of a new registrar network. This is particularly important since WLS is a whole new ballgame -- unique challenges, EPP technologies, and different registry system. It opens up a whole new paradigm of how a drop catcher would control the edge of a registrar network based on quantum effects on the macro level.

This doesn't impact Buydomains plans at all. They are building a solid business first and foremost and when it is time for them to access public markets for additional capital they will look at it as an option. We all, in a twisted sort of way, should be rooting for them to do well at the WLS ballgame.

It is my expectation that Buydomains will leverage SnapNames registrar partners for more stream. So it is important that SnapNames plan accordingly be be successful at opening day. My personal opinion is that the Canadian national anthem will not play at the WLS ballgame. (Bye Bye pool.com, shadowicann.org, dropwizard.com)

In my own twisted sort of way, I'm rooting for ICANN's Most Wanted Fugitives to participate in the WLS ballgame.

007Domains.com
000Domains
Alice's Registry
CommuniGal Communication
Domain Systems
Domain The Net Technologies
Dotster
Enameco
eNom
Fiducia
Go Daddy Software, Inc.
M2 Group Corporation
M.M. Computer Services
Names Direct
Name Intelligence, Inc.
Name Zero
Parava Networks
R. Lee Chambers Company
Rainbow Pages Inc.
Raredomains.com
Registration Technologies
Sitenames.com
TierraNet Inc.
Universal Registration Serv.
Powerpipe.com
Pool.com
Shadowicann.org
Dropwizard.com
Dnjournal.com

I think banning them for this crucial ballgame is the wrong decision for ICANN to make. It will definitely hurt the competition. I doubt these fugitives would boycott the WLS ballgame. They're unlikely to turn down the chance of increasing their profiles and earning more cash, are they?


:kickass: :kickass: Vote for Safesys - http://www.safesysisacoldwoman.org - Web site for sale.

 

[TheWatcher]

Do you have an idea of the opening day?

It was suppose to be last week of October...

 

[dnbuydomain]

Opening day will not be televised

Originally posted by TheWatcher
Do you have an idea of the opening day?

To All WLS Registrars,

The WLS OT&E Environment will be taken offline for a scheduled maintenance on Monday, December 8, 2003 UTC.

Date: Monday, December 8, 2003 UTC
Time: 1500 hrs - 1800 hrs UTC (1000 hrs - 1500 hrs EST)
Systems Affected: WLS OT&E Environment
Purpose: Routine Maintenance to Enhance WLS OT&E Environment

If you require further assistance please contact us by replying to this email.

Best Regards,

Customer Service
VeriSign, Inc.
www.verisign.com


:bingo: http://www.safesysisacoldwoman.org :sold:

 

[elenad]

Originally posted by TheWatcher
Yes the snapnames will be carried over to WLS. What about the godaddy backorder account?

TW

I needed to remove one name I preordered with nextregistrationrights.com and I emailed their support ( netsol )... The reply came from ..... [email protected]!