From Wired News, available online at: http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,38014,00.html Registrar Sues for Whois Spam by Joanna Glasner 4:00 p.m. Aug. 3, 2000 PDT In a dispute that could test the legal limits for how of personal information stored on publicly available websites is used, a domain name registrar has filed suit against a firm it claims illegally used its customer contact information in an aggressive marketing campaign of unsolicited email and phone calls. Register.com, a New York company that registers Internet domain names, filed suit this week against Verio Inc., a Colorado website developer and hosting firm, charging that the company engaged in "unauthorized commercial use of Register.com's Whois database." The suit, filed in New York federal court, charges that Verio did not comply with the rules that registrar.com and other Internet registrars set for using its Whois database -- a website that lists phone numbers, email addresses, and other information about the owners of domain names. Instead of simply getting information about particular sites -- which is generally allowed -- Register.com says Verio compiled massive lists of new customers and deluged them with unsolicited marketing messages. "In this particular case, the reason we're taking legal action is we found it to be a widespread and systematic abuse of the Whois," said Register.com spokeswoman Shonna Keogan. Register.com began receiving customer complaints in early January, alleging that Verio was soliciting their customers at both their homes and at work. Register.com officials said they were particularly concerned because Verio made reference in its sales pitches to the fact that its prospective new clients had just signed up domain names at register.com. "We have made repeated overtures to Verio to resolve this matter amicably -- highlighting numerous complaints we've received from both our customers and our partners. Since Verio has chosen to ignore our requests, we have no alternative than to take legal action in order to protect our customers from these invasive practices," said Richard Forman, president and CEO of Register.com, in a statement announcing the suit. The suit seeks a court order forcing Verio to stop marketing to Register.com customers using contact information in the Whois database. Officials at Verio could not be reached for comment. Copyright 1994-2000 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved.
From Wired News, available online at: http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,40609,00.html Judge Blocks Whois Spam by Joanna Glasner 11:00 a.m. Dec. 11, 2000 PST A federal judge dealt a significant victory to domain name registrar Register.com in a lawsuit against Web hosting firm Verio Inc. over unauthorized use of data about its customers. In a ruling in U.S. District Court in New York City, Judge Barbara Jones ordered Verio to stop using customer contact information housed in Register.com's Whois database to carry out a massive telephone and e-mail market campaign. In issuing the preliminary injunction, Jones determined that Register.com (RCOM) had a significant likelihood of prevailing on its claims that Verio violated usage policies, made unauthorized references to Register.com in marketing messages, and improperly used robotic search devices to obtain information on company servers. The judge's order prohibits Verio from using data from Register.com's computer networks "to enable the transmission of unsolicited commercial electronic mail, telephone calls or direct mail." In addition, Jones ruled that Verio can no longer use robotic searches or other software applications to pull data from the Register.com's listings. The ruling, handed down Friday, is the latest development in a four-month-old suit between Register.com and Verio that centers on the issue of setting limits on accessing and using personal information on publicly availabe online databases. The legal standoff started in August, when Register.com filed a lawsuit alleging that Verio engaged in "unauthorized commercial use of Register.com's Whois database." Although Whois databases, which contain phone numbers, e-mail addresses and other information about domain name registrants, are available to the public, registrars place restrictions on their use. Register.com charged that Verio breached its usage policy by tapping into its Whois data to compile massive lists of new customers and flooding them with marketing messages. "There are good reasons for this data to be publicly available," said Jack Levy, Register.com's general counsel, who said he approves of using Whois data for tracking down cybersquatters or contacting site administrators about technical problems. "But these kinds of mass marketing solicitations are very clearly a violation of our terms of use." In her ruling, Jones rejected an argument from Verio that Register.com's restrictions should not be enforced because direct mail and telephone marketing are acceptable uses of Whois data under an agreement Register.com signed with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to become a registrar. Jones said the agreement with ICANN "creates no right to Verio to breach its agreement to abide by Register.com's terms of use for accessing its Whois data." A Verio spokeswoman said company officials are reviewing the ruling and have not yet determined what step to take next. Levy said Register.com still intends to take the case to trial, although no court date has been set. Copyright 1994-2000 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved.