The European Commission is being asked to investigate a
proposed domain names contract between international registry body
Icann and .com registrar VeriSign over allegations that it is
anti-competitive.
The Coalition for Icann Transparency (Cfit) has filed the
complaint, claiming that the contract breaches both European law
and US antitrust rules. It has also filed a lawsuit over the
contract in the US.
Cfit has claimed the contract effectively gives VeriSign
permanent control over the .com registry and that it gives the
registrar the ability to raise registration and renewal charges by
up to 7% a year.
The contract also gives VeriSign the right to acquire expired
domains for resale. Some of the backers of Cfit are involved in the
domain name resale industry, so their interests are particularly
affected.
Icann is still consulting over the proposed contract and has
claimed that Cfit is acting out of self-interest.
Registrations for the new .eu domain name began last week.