VeriSign Settles Another Lawsuit Over Direct Mail

VeriSign Inc., the world’s largest provider of Web addresses, has settled a second lawsuit filed against it over a controversial direct-mail campaign targeting rivals’ customers, the company said Tuesday.

Go Daddy Software of Scottsdale, Ariz., said it settled the lawsuit it filed in June accusing VeriSign, based in Mountain View, Calif., of false advertising. Neither company would discuss details of the deal.

In August, VeriSign and domain name provider BulkRegister.com Inc. settled the lawsuit BulkRegister filed in May.

VeriSign’s mass mailings to customers of competitors prompted four lawsuits and an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.

The notices, which VeriSign said it stopped sending in May, urged recipients to return the forms along with a payment or risk losing their Web addresses, even if the domain name was not due to expire, according to the lawsuits.

Many people didn’t realize that doing so would automatically have their domain name registration transferred to VeriSign, the lawsuits alleged.

VeriSign, which also sells Internet security and telecom services, has been looking to refresh its domain name business.

Other domain name providers have been accused of doing similar direct mailings, but VeriSign has received most of the attention because it is the dominant player in the market.

VeriSign shares fell 19 cents to close at $4.13 on Nasdaq.