[registrars] Domain Registry of America

[Bruce Tonkin]

Hello Bob,

> 
> Isn't there something ICANN can do about this 
> misrepresentation?  Should we not expect some response by 
> ICANN to the blatantly deceptive practice?
> 

I think that some regulatory bodies (e.g FTC) have already taken some
action against this sort of thing.  The notice is now worded very
carefully to avoid prosecution.   The trouble is that most people don't
read the notice carefully, and think the notice is from their current
supplier of domain names.

In Australia, we did two things to try to minimise this sort of
activity:
(1) Removed the postal address and domain name expiry date from the
public WHOIS  (this removed the source of information for this type of
notice)
(2) Established a code of conduct around domain name renewals that binds
all registrars and their resellers.   This still doesn't stop entities
using the retail websites of registrars to register names resulting from
such notices.

Nominet, the operator of the .uk registry,  took legal action against an
Australian company that was mining their WHOIS to build a database for
sending renewal notices.

>From an ICANN perspective - there is work on reviewing the WHOIS
service.
There has not been any action on a code of conduct amongst registrars
for some time.

Regards,
Bruce Tonkin