ICANN
Formed in 1998 after a call from the US government to establish a not-for-profit organization to oversee the Internet’s functionality, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is responsible for overseeing the Internet’s Top Level Domains (TLD). Every company that provides registration services to TLD’s is required to be reviewed by ICANN. The review process is difficult but necessary to maintain the quality of the system. 1
ICANN maintains an important role in the Internet community. Almost everything that the ICANN legislates or regulates has an effect on all websites.
ICANN is also vital in the resolution of domain name registration disputes, as it is the organization responsible for designing and implementing the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (popularly known as the “UDRP”).
More information about ICANN can be found on their website icann.org.