Deja vu.
Not so fast (or slow, as you might observe).
Just weeks after ICANN’s board decided the organization should move forward with contracting .web to Nu Dot Co, which plans to assign the domain to Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN), the timeline is in doubt again.
Posting on its website today, Verisign says that Altanovo, the runner-up bidder in the $135 million auction for .web, has filed with ICANN for yet another Cooperative Engagement Process (CEP).
Altanovo is what’s left of the old Afilias after Identity Digital acquired Afilias.
The company has filed for CEP before, ultimately filing for the Independent Review Process (IRP). The IRP panel ruled that ICANN needed to make a call on whether Verisign’s deal with Nu Dot Co ahead of the auction was allowed under the guidebook. ICANN’s board decided that it was allowed.
But it’s clear Altanovo isn’t done fighting. It even filed an appeal of the IRP decision before ICANN’s board made a decision on what to do. The IRP panel admonished the company for filing that appeal and ordered it to pay $237,000 to ICANN for its troubles.
Based on its latest actions, it’s clear that it will continue this fight.
