An ISP that recently lost a spamming case brought by Register.com
is appealing to ICANN, the technical co-ordination body of the
internet, to strip the major domain registration company of its
right to sell domain names.
Last month, a US federal judge ordered the internet hosting
company Verio to stop accessing the customer database of
Register.com and using that information for sending unsolicited
commercial e-mail (spam), direct mail and telemarketing.
Register.com argued that Verio was deceiving Register.com's
customers with misleading marketing tactics and violating the terms
of use for Register.com's WHOIS database.
Register.com sought a court order to halt Verio's activities,
alleging that they constituted breach of contract, trespass to its
computer database and violations under US legislation: the Computer
Fraud and Abuse Act and the Lanham Act. The Lanham Act covers
liability for unfair competition and false designation of
origin.
As an ICANN accredited registrar, Register.com is required to
maintain a WHOIS database to give public access to information for
the purposes of resolving domain name disputes. Verio used a
program to search the WHOIS database for newly registered domain
names and then add the details of each registrant to its marketing
list. Register.com was alerted to Verio’s actions by complaints
from customers who had not opted-in to receive solicitations when
registering with Register.com.
Judge Jones ruled that by submitting a WHOIS inquiry, Verio
assented to the terms of use required by Register.com. It then
breached these terms of use.
Verio has now asked ICANN to withdraw the accreditation of ICANN
on the grounds that Register.com allegedly violated its
accreditation agreement with ICANN. Verio is also appealing the
court’s ruling.
The full nature of the alleged violation by Register.com is
unclear. An ICANN lawyer admitted to the court last month that,
while Verio may have improperly accessed WHOIS data, it also
appeared that Register.com may have breached its agreement with
ICANN. The president of ICANN has indicated that the body is
awaiting a response from Register.com before taking a decision on
Verio’s request.
To date, ICANN has never removed a registrar’s
accreditation.
