Hagens Berman has filed a class-action lawsuit against Verisign, Inc. and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), alleging that the companies maintain an illegal monopoly over the .com domain name registry. As the sole operator of the .com registry—the authoritative database for the world's most widely used domain extension—Verisign is accused of extracting supra-competitive fees from a captive customer base. The lawsuit claims that Verisign’s pricing is protected by a contract with ICANN that grants it a permanent monopoly, effectively foreclosing competitive bidding and preventing other suppliers from entering the market.
The lawsuit identifies Verisign as the sole operator of the .com registry and alleges it maintains an illegal monopoly.
The complaint highlights a significant divergence between Verisign’s pricing and the actual costs of registry operations. Since 2021, Verisign’s price has reportedly risen by more than 30%, reaching $10.26 per domain. In contrast, the lawsuit alleges that Verisign’s internal financial filings indicate an operating cost of approximately $3 per domain, while comparable registries worldwide average between $5 and $6. This discrepancy suggests operating margins exceeding 67%, which the lawsuit claims are used to fund shareholder dividends and stock buybacks rather than infrastructure innovation. The filing notes that while backend registry costs for other extensions, such as .org, have fallen significantly due to competitive bidding, Verisign has consistently raised prices to the maximum permitted amount each year.
The complaint highlights a significant divergence between Verisign’s pricing and the actual costs of registry operations.
The legal action seeks to challenge the 'presumptive right of renewal' that the lawsuit claims Verisign used to dismantle competitive safeguards. By allegedly using litigation and financial pressure to influence ICANN, Verisign is accused of securing a position that allows it to raise prices indefinitely. Under the current agreement, the lawsuit projects that .com prices could reach approximately $13.44 by 2030. The plaintiffs argue that a successful class action could result in a rollback of these prices and a mandate for competitive bidding, a mechanism that has successfully lowered costs for other top-level domains. The lawsuit affects any individual, small business, or nonprofit that registered or renewed a .com domain since 2022 through any registrar, as Verisign's wholesale fee is embedded in every transaction.