Leading domain name registrar VeriSign Inc. was hit with a second lawsuit Friday alleging that the company has engaged in unfair marketing practices in an attempt to snag its rivals’ customers.
The latest suit, filed by InterCosmos Media Group Inc., charges VeriSign with sending deceptive domain registration and renewal notices to customers of InterCosmos’ directNIC.com registry site. The suit comes on the heels of similar accusations made by BulkRegister.com Inc., which lodged a lawsuit against VeriSign in May.
In both cases, VeriSign is being accused of sending marketing material that misleads its rivals’ customers into thinking that their domain name is about to expire, and instructs them to renew with VeriSign.
InterCosmos filed suit in a Louisiana federal court last week, claiming to have lost profits and customers due to VeriSign’s “trickery.” The New Orleans, Louisiana, company is seeking damages for lost profits, restitution, mental anguish and attorneys’ fees.
No one from VeriSign was immediately available Monday to comment on the case.