The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, ICANN,
that manages the domain name system of the internet, is being sued
in a Texas district court by RegLand Inc., a company that offers
domain name registrations to those wanting to pre-register names in
the anticipated new top-level domains (TLDs).
The lawsuit alleges that ICANN has abused its power. ICANN has
come under increasing scrutiny and criticism recently for its
business practices. The lawsuit alleges defamation, business
disparagement and wrongful interference. According to RegLand,
specific accusations against ICANN include scaring away customers
with notices posted by ICANN on its web site, and “strong-arming”
some of the domain name registrars with which RegLand.com does
business.
ICANN is deciding which new top-level domain names will be
available late this year or early next. Domains under consideration
include .shop, .info, .kids and others. Once they are approved and
operational, these domains will work exactly like the now familiar
.com, .net and .org, currently operated by Network Solutions.
ICANN has warned that there is no guarantee for those who
pre-register with companies such as RegLand that their registration
will be honoured. The TLD might not be among those selected and the
chosen domain name could conflict with an identical name
pre-registered with a competing company. RegLand charges applicants
a non-refundable $20 for each chosen name; an additional sum,
estimated at $40, is payable if the application is successful.
RegLand said in a statement:
“Expect a gold rush for names in the new
top-level domains. RegLand.com is leading the way for
pre-registration of names within these new domains. Mere seconds,
perhaps tenths of seconds, will separate the winners of great
domain names from the losers. At the moment the new domain names
are made available for registration, RegLand.com's automated
solution will push their customer's registrations through the
system as fast as possible… Although RegLand.com will do all it can
to maximise the chances of acquiring a name, it cannot guarantee
success.”
