The Internet Commerce Association (internetcommerce.org) recently addressed more than 50 domain name owners at the SedoPro conference in New Paltz, New York to discuss potential threats to the value of domain names.

Phil Corwin, a representative of the ICA, says the domain community should try to prevent the disorder the private equity industry faces right now due to the introduction of a bill to tax private equity profits at a higher rate. Corwin says mainstream press has already brought attention to the wealth the domain name industry has been creating, which could get the attention of legislators in Washington and cause a similar situation. However, he says it's not too late to influence policy making.

In his presentation, Corwin mentioned a few specific threats to domain names including domain name classification as a property versus a license. He says the ICA wants domains to be classified as property and the domain industry should take the lead on getting this position solidified. Another issue is the fact that many registrars are retaining the best expiring domain names, which creates a conflict of interest.

One of the biggest issues he mentioned had to do with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and its willing to sacrifice the domain industry's interests for backroom deals, such as the VeriSign settlement.

He also brought up his issues with ICANN's role in the .xxx domain dispute and the fact that ICANN is looking into becoming a private international organization to insulate itself from litigation.