Changes to Internet Domain Name Registration Unfavorable to
Registrants
Businesswire. New York. May 3, 1999. The International Congress of
Independent Internet Users (ICIIU), an advocate of the rights of
non-commercial and small business Internet users that maintains an
informational website and on-line forum (www.iciiu.org), today
posted a warning to present and future domain name holders in .COM,
.ORG, and .NET that they may be asked to sign a contract depriving
them of their rights and thereby effectively blocking, for many
applicants, access to the domain name system.
"New registrars are being accredited in addition to the traditional
one, Network Solutions, Inc (NSI). They are adopting a policy of
ICANN, the new Internet regulatory authority, requiring registrants
to sign a highly unfavorable contract", said Michael Sondow, ICIIU's
Chairman. "Unfavorable to the registrant, that is," he added
laconically.
Mr. Sondow warns: "I strongly advise all domain name applicants to
read any contract they're asked to sign very carefully. Better yet,
have an attorney go over it with a fine-tooth comb. These contracts
place domain name holders, especially those without large financial
resources for lawsuits, in a dangerous position. You don't want
someone with deep pockets to take your domain name away after you've
put your life savings into building up web presence. For that
matter, who's going to invest in it in the first place under these
conditions?"
The Internet is being privatized, and a new corporation named ICANN
has been granted power by the U.S. Department of Commerce to
regulate the allocation and use of domain names. This new regulatory
agency, unsupported by any body of law and whose board of directors
has not been elected by any lawful process, is accrediting new
domain name registrars and telling them to impose a contract on
applicants.
One of the new registrars, a Florida-based company that is part of
CORE, an association of ISPs, telcos and others who want a cut of
the registration action that has pushed NSI's stock into the
stratosphere, is requiring registrants to be bound by dispute
settlements of WIPO, a representative of trademark owners. In
another clause, registrants must agree to settle disputes in the
geographical jurisdiction of the registrar. A third clause makes the
domain name holder liable for litigation costs the registrar incurs
if a third party sues it for any reason connected with the
registrant's domain name.
"The Internet's changing", said Mr. Sondow. "The corporate world
has it on its plate now. There are big surprises in store for
people."
