Some companies that applied for popular .biz domain names have had their applications cancelled.

NeuLevel, the registry operator for .biz, cancelled applications after the Los Angeles Superior Court issued an injunction against it alleging that the .biz application process was an illegal lottery.

However, the cancelled applications are only for domains where there was more than one applicant. NeuLevel will assign these domains using a round-robin system similar to that used for .info allocation.

Net Searchers, the registrar accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which offers .biz domains on behalf of NeuLevel, will refund money paid for cancelled applications.

Net Searchers will help companies which are unsuccessful in securing their domain to challenge infringing registrations under the Start-up Trademark Opposition Policy.

But only trademark owners who pre-registered their marks in NeuLevel's Intellectual Property Claims Database last year may challenge .biz registrations this way.

Unaffected domains went live at the end of last year.