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.