Network Solutions, ICANN Sued

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LOS ANGELES - A federal class-action lawsuit was filed Monday against Network Solutions for allegedly forcing millions of people to buy Internet domain names from the company instead of from cheaper competitors.
The alleged scheme has netted the company millions of dollars, said the law firm Kabateck Brown Kellner.

The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, also names ICANN for having policies that facilitate the alleged scheme.

"Imagine if you asked a car dealer if they had a black convertible and were then forced to buy the car from them," said Brian Kabateck, lead counsel in the suit and the managing partner of Kabateck Brown Kellner. "Would you get a good deal? Each time someone asks Network Solutions about a domain name, the firm creates a monopoly for itself, forcing consumers to pay the price they demand."

The suit claims that whenever someone searches for the availability of a domain name through Network Solutions' website, the company immediately registers the name for itself, thus preventing other companies from selling it and forcing consumers to pay Network Solutions' expensive fees.

If a consumer were to go to another site where it would be cheaper to register the domain name, the name would be "unavailable," the suit claims, adding that consumers are never informed that inquiring about a name's availability through Network Solutions results in the company holding a monopoly on selling the name.

Network Solutions reportedly charged $34.99 to register a name sought by the lead plaintiff in the suit. A competitor would have charged $9.99, the suit claims.

The suit claims that ICANN makes Network Solutions' alleged scheme possible by allowing companies that sell domain names to avoid paying registration fees for names cancelled within five days. The plaintiffs say this allows Network Solutions to defraud customers at no cost to itself.