On November 25, 2024, VeriSign, Inc. (VRSN, Financial) announced the renewal of its .com Registry Agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This new agreement, effective December 1, 2024, amends and restates the previous agreement dated December 1, 2012, with subsequent amendments in 2016, 2019, and 2020. The prior agreement was set to expire on November 30, 2024.
The renewed agreement introduces several new provisions aimed at aligning with ICANN's Base Registry Agreement. Notably, it includes permissible increases in domain name transaction fees based on the U.S. Consumer Price Index, obligations to mitigate Domain Name System (DNS) abuse, and enhanced service level requirements for the Registration Data Access Protocol. Additionally, the agreement emphasizes commitments to bolster the security, stability, and resiliency of the .com Top-Level Domain (TLD), incorporating new security incident reporting commitments and discussions on business continuity. Importantly, there are no changes to the pricing provisions for .com domain names.
Furthermore, VeriSign and ICANN have entered into a new amendment to a separate binding Letter of Intent (LOI) initially dated March 27, 2020, and amended on July 1, 2023. This LOI formalizes a framework for collaboration to enhance the security, stability, and resiliency of both the .com and .net TLDs and the DNS. The latest amendment includes discussions on Internationalized Domain Names and the renewal of the LOI before its expiration on December 31, 2025.
This strategic renewal and amendment underscore VeriSign's commitment to maintaining robust security and operational standards in the domain name industry, ensuring continued trust and reliability for its global user base.
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