Verisign Enjoined From "Domain Slamming"

VeriSign, Inc., the preeminent domain name registrar, has been enjoined by a federal judge in Maryland from continuing its controversial marketing campaign involving the mailing of notices to domain name registrants encouraging them to re-register their Internet domain names with VeriSign. The injunction, issued on May 14, 2002, was granted as part of a lawsuit filed against VeriSign the previous day by BulkRegister, a domain-name seller based in Baltimore. In the lawsuit, BulkRegister alleges VeriSign is engaged in a "slamming" campaign aimed at BulkRegister’s domain name customers intended to deceive them into switching their accounts to VeriSign. The term "slamming" refers to an outlawed practice by long distance telephone providers to trick consumers into switching their providers.