.РФ domain registrars suspected of collusion

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) has opened a case against six domain name registrars in the .РФ zone. The registrars are accused of violating articles of the law "On Protection of Competition." The cases were initiated against the following companies: Regional Network Information Center CJSC, Regional Network Information Center ANO, Relcom.Business Network LLC, Demos-Internet CJSC, Registrar CJSC, and Elvis-Telecom CJSC.

These companies are accredited registrars in the .РФ domain zone. The companies held auctions among users for the right to register domain names. Information has surfaced on blogs and forums online indicating that attempts to register domain names are often unsuccessful. This is especially true for "pretty" domains. In such cases, users see a message indicating that more than one application has been submitted for the domain and that the domain has been put up for auction by the registrar. Since the start of open registration, 14 complaints have been filed against the registrar companies alleging unfair competition. Such complaints continue to be filed.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service believes that the registrars' actions resemble collusion between the companies.

The case against the registrars will be heard in December 2010.

Ru-Center representatives emphasize that the company registered the domains in its name for subsequent resale at auction. However, according to the coordination center's rules, to prevent cybersquatting, the domain owner must hold it for at least one year. Therefore, all these domains will be transferred to clients.

Analysts believe that if the registrars' guilt is proven, they could be stripped of their registered domains.