[registrars] Domain Justice Coalition

["Michael D. Palage" <michael@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello All:

Could any registrar that is a member in the Domain Justice Coalition please
make available to the public a copy of the lawsuit which was filed today
against ICANN in Los Angeles Federal Court. The clerk of court said a copy
would not be available for several days. Thanks in advance.

For those registrars not familiar with this development please see the press
release below, or this article on CNET,
http://news.com.com/2110-1025_3-1026076.html.

Best regards,

Mike

Contact: 	Kim Bayliss
		The Dutko Group
		(202) 863-4209


DOMAIN JUSTICE COALITION MEMBERS FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST ICANN IN FEDERAL
COURT; SEEK TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER ON WLS
Launches www.StopWLS.com to educate consumers, encourage letters
to members of Congress


WASHINGTON, D.C., July 15, 2003 ? Members of the Domain Justice Coalition
filed a lawsuit today requesting a temporary restraining order and other
relief against ICANN to block the implementation of a domain name Wait
Listing Service (WLS). The WLS was proposed by VeriSign, Inc. and approved
by ICANN in federal court in Los Angeles. The suit challenges ICANN?s
failure to comply with its internal decision-making process requirements
when it approved implementation of the WLS in the face of opposition from
domain name registrars, resellers and consumers.

The lawsuit also claims that the scheduled WLS launch date of October 11 is
already harming Coalition members by creating doubt among secondary market
consumers who are concerned about the viability of the services they
currently use.

A similar lawsuit was filed July 10 in the Ontario, Canada Superior Court of
Justice by a Canadian Coalition member company, alleging anti-trust
violations against ICANN.

?The WLS will have a devastating impact on consumer choice in the secondary
domain registration marketplace by creating one centralized service for the
acquisition of expired domains,? said Clint Page, Coalition leader,
spokesperson and president of Dotster, Inc., a domain name registrar. ?In
addition to the increased cost to consumers, the WLS will recreate the type
of monopoly that VeriSign once had in the domain name market. It is our hope
that the lawsuit filed today will result in an injunction against ICANN and
the prevention of implementation of the WLS.?

The lawsuit comes amidst increasing frustration with ICANN?s decision-making
processes.  On June 19, Reps. Brian Baird (D-WA) and Jay Inslee (D-WA) of
the U.S. House of Representatives proposed legislation that, if passed,
would authorize the  General Accounting Office (GAO) to study the business
practices of ICANN and of the domain name system. Further, it requests that
a moratorium be placed on any action regarding the WLS until the GAO has
submitted a report of its study findings to Congress. The bill is titled the
Fair, Transparent, and Competitive Internet Naming Act of 2003, and is
supported by the Coalition.

The Domain Justice Coalition has established a Web site, www.StopWLS.com, to
educate the public on the WLS and to encourage consumers to write to their
members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor the legislation.

About the Domain Justice Coalition
The Domain Justice Coalition is comprised of domain name registrars and
resellers who oppose the proposed WLS. The Coalition shares the belief that
the proposed WLS will harm competition in the secondary market for domain
names, increase the cost of acquiring domain names for consumers, and add an
unnecessary layer of bureaucracy to the process of acquiring expiring domain
names without adding any measurable benefits to consumers.

The following registrars and resellers are members of the Coalition:
000Domains; 007Domains.com; Alice?s Registry;
BuyDomains.com/Raredomains.com; CommuniGal Communications Unlimited; Domain
Discover; Domain Systems; Dotster Inc.; eNameco; eNom; Fiducia; GoDaddy.com;
Names Direct, Name Intelligence, Inc.; Namescout.com; NameZero.com; Parava
Networks; Pool.com; Registration Technologies, Inc.; SiteNames.com;
TierraNet Inc.; and Universal Registration Services.