ICANN, Verisign To Restructure Domain Name Registry Pact
Updated: Monday, April 2, 2001 03:15 PM ET
MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (Dow Jones)--Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, approved the proposed revisions to its agreement with VeriSign Inc. (VRSN, news, msgs).
In a press release Monday, ICANN said the revision would divide the existing agreement into separate registry agreements for each of .com, .net and .org. Each contract would be subject to an individual term.
Verisign currently operates .com, .net and .org registries; and any amendments to the ICANN-Verisign contract are subject to U.S. Department of Commerce approval.
Verisign's .org agreement is scheduled to expire Dec. 31, 2002, and the company wouldn't be eligible to seek to renew the contract. The .org registry is expected to be turned over to an unspecified not-for-profit organization.
The .net agreement is set to expire on Jan. 1, 2006, and will be subject to a competitive renewal process. VeriSign and all other interested parties could participate. The .com agreement will expire on Nov. 10, 2007. VeriSign would have a right at that time to renewal for a new four-year term if it satisfies the undisclosed criteria set forth in the agreement.
VeriSign also agreed to a number of technical and conforming changes in the draft agreements. The original agreement granted VeriSign an automatic right to operate all three registries until 2007, provided VeriSign sold its registrar business by May 10, 2001.
The new agreement doesn't require the sale of the registrar business but strengthens the requirements that VeriSign not favor its affiliated registrar operations in any way over unaffiliated registrars.
Company Web site: icann.org
-Eamon Beltran; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5400 |
