JUDGE THROWS OUT ANTITRUST SUIT AGAINST NETWORK SOLUTIONS A federal judge this week ruled that an antitrust lawsuit brought against Internet domain name registrar Network Solutions was invalid because the company is immune from antitrust liability under a legal doctrine known as "federal instrumentality." Network Solutions has been under contract to the National Science Foundation to perform the registration service, and therefore is entitled to the same antitrust immunity the government has, said the judge. The suit had been brought by PGMedia, which runs its own domain-name service, called "name.space." (Wall Street Journal 19 Mar 99)
