GoDaddy.com(R) Fighting to Overturn ICANN(R)-VeriSign(R) Decision

Urging U.S. Commerce Secretary to Reject .COM Registry Agreement

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- GoDaddy.com, the No. 1 registrar of domain names worldwide, is petitioning the U.S. Department of Commerce to deny final approval of the controversial .COM Registry Agreement with VeriSign. GoDaddy.com and other top registrars, representing a majority of .COM registrars, want the deal sent back to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to be reworked in a way that is fair and equitable.

ICANN, the governing body of the Internet, has been working to settle a lawsuit with VeriSign, which manages .COM and .NET domain name extensions. The proposed settlement agreement would allow VeriSign to raise registration fees by seven percent annually in four of the next six years without cost-based justification. It also would give VeriSign control of the .COM registry indefinitely, as it extends VeriSign's "presumptive renewal" right when the proposed settlement agreement expires in 2012.

The new .COM registry agreement still requires approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC).

"We will not sit back without a fight. This deal is outrageous. It's monopolistic because it locks in price hikes and eliminates good old-fashion competition. It's a mistake Secretary (Carlos) Gutierrez can stop," said Bob Parsons, CEO and Founder of GoDaddy.com.

The DOC's mission is to foster, promote and develop the United States' foreign and domestic commerce. Two of its listed goals are to promote business policies and growth and to strengthen the international economic position of the United States.

Parsons continued, "This deal would give VeriSign a monopoly in the .COM registry -- the source of its highest profit margin. The .COM price should be going down, not up. The fact ICANN ignored an avalanche of negative comments on this proposed agreement says it all."

In a letter sent to DOC Secretary Gutierrez last Friday, GoDaddy.com detailed why the agreement should be rejected and returned to ICANN. Among other assertions, the letter states the strengthened presumptive renewal stipulation makes "absolutely no sense for the community, or stability and security as a whole." In addition to urging Secretary Gutierrez to reject the agreement, GoDaddy.com has joined a number of other registrars in signing a joint letter to the DOC and filing a Motion for Reconsideration.

To see the letter GoDaddy.com sent to the DOC, visit http://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/pressreleases/DOC.pdf .

To see follow-up comments posted by members of the community for ICANN's consideration, visit http://forum.icann.org/lists/revised-settlement/.

The ICANN board voted on its recommendation to the DOC just one week after the close of the public comment period and without modifications to any of the raised issues. GoDaddy.com contends ICANN is acting clearly outside the majority of the affected community's expectations and not in line with their own bylaws.

Some members of Congress have also expressed concerns with the situation. Parsons encourages all Americans to write to their Representatives and Senators and voice their opposition to the agreement. He is helping to facilitate this by providing a form letter people can send to their elected officials. For a copy of the action letter and more on Parsons' views, visit http://www.BobParsons.com .

For information on Go Daddy(R) products and services, visit http://www.GoDaddy.com .

About The Go Daddy Group, Inc.

GoDaddy.com, Inc. is the "on-ramp" to the Internet for individuals and businesses worldwide, providing a one-stop shop for acquiring, creating and safeguarding a unique online identity. GoDaddy.com offers a comprehensive line of Internet products and services, including domain name registration, web hosting solutions, personalized email packages, SSL certificates, web development tools, eCommerce utilities and more. GoDaddy.com is the world's No. 1 domain name registrar, both in terms of new registrations and domains under management. The Go Daddy Group includes three ICANN-accredited domain name registrars: flagship registrar GoDaddy.com , Inc. (http://www.GoDaddy.com), membership-based registrar Blue Razor(R) Domains, Inc. (http://www.bluerazor.com), and reseller registrar Wild West Domains(R), Inc. ( http://www.wildwestdomains.com). The Go Daddy Group also offers private domain name registration services through Domains By Proxy(R), Inc. ( http://www.domainsbyproxy.com), as well as SSL Certificates through its SSL Certificate Authority, Starfield Technologies(R), Inc. (http://www.starfieldtech.com). The Go Daddy Group registers or renews a domain name every 3 seconds and has more than 12 million domain names in its portfolio. The Go Daddy Group is also the world's largest web host in terms of hostnames. Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Bob Parsons http://profnet.prnewswire.com/ud_public.jsp?userid=350318 Warren Adelman http://profnet.prnewswire.com/ud_public.jsp?userid=350320 SOURCE GoDaddy.com