Lawsuit alleges Verisign has maintained an illegal monopoly over the .com registry.
A California man has sued (pdf) Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN) and ICANN, alleging that their agreements governing .com have allowed Verisign to maintain an illegal monopoly and charge excessive prices for .com domain names.
Plaintiff Jeff Kessler is the registrant of six .com domain names.
The lawsuit details the decades-long history of Verisign’s contract with ICANN for .com domain names and argues that Verisign coerced ICANN into giving Verisign good terms.
Kessler seeks to represent a nationwide class of people and businesses that have paid to renew .com domains since at least September 4, 2022. That nationwide class seeks injunctive relief. A separate California class seeks monetary damages and other relief under state law.
Among other things, the lawsuit asks the court to stop the defendants from continuing the alleged anticompetitive conduct and prevent enforcement of provisions that restrict ICANN’s ability to regulate .com wholesale pricing.
