[governance] Appeals Court Revives the CFIT Anti-Trust Suit

[Bret Fausett]

Take a look at the decision itself (short URL at http://bret.net/COMAntitrust 
  ), which contains some nice wording about ICANN.

"[T]the Supreme Court has held that an entity may be prosecuted for...  
improper coercion of a standards-setting body. ...CFIT has essentially  
alleged that ICANN is a private standards-setting body.... ICANN  
administers the DNS and is responsible for entering into agreements  
with registry operators like VeriSign. According to the complaint,  
ICANN’s mission includes a commitment to promoting competition for the  
contracts. ....We hold, therefore, that ....CFIT has adequately  
alleged that VeriSign’s improper coercion of ICANN and attempts to  
control ICANN’s operations in its own favor violated [U.S. Antitrust  
Laws]."

There's a nice citation to a Michael Froomkin article in the middle of  
that quote in the opinion. Personally I think this ruling strengthens  
ICANN, and ICANN's independence, as it plainly says that if you abuse  
the ICANN process to gain an anti-competitive advantage, you run afoul  
of U.S. laws.

      -- Bret
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