VeriSign vs ICANN
p2pnet.net News:- "Working the ICANN process is like being nibbled to death by ducks"
That’s the unvarnished opinion of Tom Galvin, VeriSign vp for government relations as quoted in a Reuters story here which says VeriSign is suing ICANN for allegedly overstepping its authority when it stopped VeriSign from introducing new Web-address services.
In a suit filed today, VeriSign Inc says ICANN has no authority to prevent VeriSign from rolling out a search engine for users who mistype Internet addresses, VeriSign said, as well as another feature that allows users to sign up for a waiting list for desirable domain names.
ICANN declined immediate comment, says Reuters.
The "brazen attempt by ICANN to assume ‘regulatory power’ over VeriSign’s business is a serious abuse of ICANN’s technical coordination function," Reuters quotes VeriSign as stating.
VeriSign’s Site Finder pops up when users enter the name of a non-existent Web site and, "Technical experts said it could impact the stability of the Internet, and rivals said VeriSign was abusing its position as administrator of the database of ‘.com’ addresses," says the story.
"ICANN ordered VeriSign to temporarily shut down the search service in October 2003 while it underwent technical review. The reviewing body has not yet issued a decision on the service.
"Other proposed VeriSign services, such as the waiting list and a means to translate addresses into non-Roman alphabets, have been unnecessarily held up as well, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company said."
ICANN’s board of directors is scheduled to consider the wait-list service at an ICANN meeting in Rome next week, adding that ICANN has faced "heated criticism from Internet activists who say it favors business interests, as well as developing-world governments that want a greater say in how the global computer network is run".
