After Losing Suit, VeriSign Files Another ICANN Complaint

LOS ANGELES — VeriSign Inc. has decided to continue its antitrust claims against the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers despite having a similar case thrown out last week in U.S. District Court, XBiz has learned.

VeriSign, the registry managing .com and .net domains, filed the pared-down suit Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, a company spokesman confirmed Tuesday.

In the latest suit, VeriSign focuses its complaint on breach-of-contract allegations and asks the court to rule for a declaratory judgment that ICANN should stay out of its business.

VeriSign contends the contractual agreement it has with ICANN does not disallow such services as Site Finder and Wait List Service that VeriSign wants to offer.

The company claims these services do not require ICANN approval. ICANN disagrees, and VeriSign contends this costs the company money in delays.

One of the services VeriSign wants to offer is Site Finder, which offers links to possible intended destinations when surfers query for nonexistent domain names. Another is Wait List Service, which recaptures soon-to-expire domain names.

The new VeriSign complaint is similar to the antitrust conspiracy theories that the company contended in its original February suit.

In the suit decided on last week in U.S. District Court, a judge tossed antitrust claims of conspiracy under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, concluding that participation by six VeriSign competitors that advise ICANN’s board is not enough to give rise to antitrust liability because “participation” in the process is not the same thing as “control” of the board’s ultimate decisions.

“VeriSign’s theory seems to be that the advisory bodies were the de facto decision-makers because the Board essentially rubber-stamped all of their recommendations,” U.S. District Court Judge A. Howard Matz wrote.

ICANN, which the court described as “an unusual organization,” is a nonprofit corporation created in 1998 to handle domain name administrative and policymaking duties delegated to it by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“That the [ICANN] board ultimately may have adopted an advisory group’s policy recommendation, or that it was common practice for the board to do so, does not mean that the board merely ‘rubber stamped’ the proposals and allowed itself to be controlled by VeriSign’s competitors,” the court reasoned.

The U.S. District Court case case is VeriSign Inc. vs. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, No. CV-04-1292 AHM.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

TTS Opens UK Testing Location

Talent Testing Service (TTS) has opened a new U.K. location in Ware, Hertfordshire.

FSC Responds to Supreme Court Decision on Texas AV Law

The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has released a statement responding to last week's Supreme Court decision on FSC v. Paxton, the Texas age verification law.

Sex Work CEO Debuts Upgraded 'GPTease' AI Assistant

Sex Work CEO has introduced the new Canvas in-chat editing feature to its AI-powered, NSFW text generator, GPTease.

UPDATED: Supreme Court Rules Against Adult Industry in Pivotal Texas AV Case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday issued its decision in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, striking a blow against the online adult industry by ruling in support of Texas’ controversial age verification law, HB 1181.

North Carolina Passes Extreme Bill Targeting Adult Sites

The North Carolina state legislature this week ratified a bill that would impose new regulations that industry observers have warned could push adult websites and platforms to ban most adult creators and content.

Supreme Court Ruling Due Friday in FSC v. Paxton AV Case

The U.S. Supreme Court will rule on Friday in Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton, the adult industry trade association's challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law, HB 1181.

Ofcom: More Porn Providers Commit to Age Assurance Measures

A number of adult content providers operating in the U.K. have confirmed that they plan to introduce age checks in compliance with the Online Safety Act by the July 25 deadline, according to U.K. media regulator Ofcom.

Aylo Says It Will Comply With UK Age Assurance Requirements

Tech and media company Aylo, which owns various adult properties including Pornhub, YouPorn and Redtube, plans to introduce age assurance methods in the United Kingdom that satisfy government rules under the Online Safety Act, the company has announced.

Kyrgyzstan Parliament Approves Measure Outlawing Internet Porn

The Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday passed legislation outlawing online adult content in the country.

Trial Set for Lawsuit by U Wisconsin Professor Fired Over Adult Content

A trial date of June 22, 2026, has been set for the civil lawsuit filed by veteran communications professor Joe Gow against the University of Wisconsin board of regents, which fired him for creating and appearing in adult content.

Show More