Want to stay current on e–commerce law? Sign up for Email Newsletter.
SnapNames Sues ICANN for Tortuous Interference over Delayed Wait List Service
SnapNames.com Inc. has filed suit against Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in the Superior Court of California alleging ICANN has tortuously interfered with SnapNames' actual and proposed business relations with VeriSign Inc. concerning a proposed wait listing service (WLS). WLS provides a mechanism whereby a party may subscribe to register an existing registered domain name in the event that current registration is not renewed.
WLS-type services are currently available from a number of registrars and other service providers. These existing services periodically invoke VeriSign's currently available domain name registry system in the hope that a particular domain name was not renewed. The services compete to be the first in the front door to re-register the domain name. The proposed WLS is described as a back door approach configured to pre-empt the existing services to register the lapsing domain name from inside VeriSign's system before it appears publicly available.
VeriSign contracted with SnapNames to license certain SnapNames technology to implement WLS in 2001. The suit alleges that though ICANN has approved WLS, ICANN has delayed the steps necessary to submit the service for Department of Commerce approval and failed to engage in a process to move WLS forward. SnapNames alleges, on information and belief, a conspiracy between ICANN and certain WLS competitors including Pool.com, Inc. of Ottawa. Pool.com had earlier filed a suit against ICANN to block WLS.
For a copy of the SnapNames court submission, see:
http://blog.lextext.com/_attachments/187126/complain.pdf
For more information on Pool.com's suit, visit: