May, 2001 : ICANN and VeriSign Sign on the Dotted Line

(May 25, 2001) Marina del Rey, CA –Today the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers(ICANN) and VeriSign Inc., formally entered into new agreementsunder which the Internet’s .com, .net, and .org domainswill be operated for the next several years. ICANN President/CEO,M. Stuart Lynn, applauded the completion of the new agreements,stating, “This is a positive step forward for the Internetcommunity that remodels the landscape of the VeriSign agreements,bringing them into closer alignment with standard ICANN registryagreements. The final documents reflect extensive communityinput that was vital to the final outcome.”

The agreements followed widespread discussionswithin the Internet community that resulted in several featuresbeing added as negotiations progressed. The signed agreementsaddressed community concerns that had been raised by ICANN’sNames Council and its member constituencies. ICANN’s Boardof Directors approved the revised agreements on April 2, 2001.“The ICANN process really worked”, Lynn noted.

Before the new agreements, VeriSign operatedthe Internet’s .com, .net, and .org registries under agreementswith ICANN and the U.S. Department of Commerce that could haveextended to November 2007. Under the new agreements, VeriSignhas agreed that its right to operate the .org registry will expirein 2002. The .net registry agreement will expire in June 30,2005, and prior to that time will be opened for recompetition,unless market measurements indicate that an earlier expirationdate is necessary for competitive reasons. VeriSign will continueto operate the .com registry until at least the expiration dateof the current agreement in 2007, but agreed to enhanced measures(including annual audits arranged by ICANN and made availableto the US Government) to ensure that its registry-operation unitgives equal treatment to all domain name registrars, includingVeriSign’s registrar business.

Under the 1999 agreements, the U.S. CommerceDepartment’s approval was required for the replacement agreements.On May 18, the Commerce Department approved the agreements, afterVeriSign agreed to a shorter term for the agreement concerning.net.