Until last fall, Network Solutions had been the exclusive provider of domain-name registration services under a contract it had with the U.S. Commerce Department.

CNN: New domain names approved

The newspaper reports that investigators are examining whether former Officer David Mack conspired with Death Row Records founder Marion "Suge" Knight to arrange the contract murder of the 24-year-old rapper whose real name was Christopher Wallace.

CNN: Showbuzz

In that case, White and the four other named plaintiffs alleged that a number of labor practices in the NFL violated antitrust law: the right of first refusal, the college draft system and the standard NFL contract, to name a few.

FORBES: What is the NFL Players' Lawsuit All About?

This reluctance to sign a contract had also stopped Icann putting in place mechanisms to help the smooth running of the domain name system, he said.

BBC: Net's servers under scrutiny