Verisign finds way to sign ICANN contract, but it might come at the expense of IDN investors.
[Update: see comment from Verisign at end.]
It’s been a long, long wait for owners of internationalized domain names under .com.
The idea was that they’d get rights to IDN.IDN-as-transliteration domain names to match their IDN.com names when they came out. So they registered IDN.com domain names and held on to them for a decade, waiting for their investment to pay off.
Given that the IDN-as-transliteration sounds like “com”, it will create a lot of confusion if two different parties owned IDN.com and IDN.IDN-as-transliteration.
Verisign ran into a bit of trouble executing this plan when it came to contracting with ICANN. Registries can’t hold back a bunch of domains in perpetuity, as ICM Registry discovered.
On yesterday’s Q2 conference call, Verisign CEO James Bidzos announced:
Based primarily on feedback from domain name community stakeholders, we have revised our IDN launch strategy. We will offer these new IDN top-level domains as standalone domain names, subject to normal introductory availability and rights protection mechanisms, available to all new gTLDs. This revised approach will not require ICANN approval and is designed to provide end users and businesses with the greatest flexibility and, for registrars, a simple and straightforward framework to serve the market.
That sounds horrible for IDN investors. But it’s a bit nuanced, and clarification in Q&A suggests there might still be a mechanism for IDN.com holders to get names, just after sunrise.
Steve M. Ashley – Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc. (Broker) Thank you very much. I just wanted to go back, Jim, to the revised strategy and maybe you can just help us understand what has changed? What is the revision and how is it different from the original plan you had?
D. James Bidzos – Executive Chairman, President & CEO Okay. Originally, we had a modified plan for a sunrise offering where we would reserve some names for certain pre-registered names in IDN.com. Based on feedback that we received from the community, it seems that it will work better for everyone and the preference on the part of our community, especially brand-holders is that we offer a standard form of sunrise. So that means that we will proceed with a standard TLD rollout for all of our IDNs, which does not require any ICANN approval.
I think the important difference here in today’s news versus what we talked about to you a quarter ago is that we no longer are waiting or require any ICANN approval, and we have some more certainty around the timing in rollout. We know what we need to do now. We have the set activities that precede an actual rollout. So we can say with some confidence that our staged rollout of our 11 IDNs will begin by the end of the year.
Steve M. Ashley – Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc. (Broker) Under the previous plan, you had really hoped to provide, I think, more protection to brand-holders by extending the sunrise period and making sure that a named dot-com holder had the rights to – they would have – be the only ones who would have the rights to the new IDNs. Are you saying now that the third-parties after the sunrise period would be able to buy some of these IDNs?
D. James Bidzos – Executive Chairman, President & CEO Under some circumstances that might be possible. There are a number of different approaches that are available to all TLD registries under the new RA that we signed, the new registry agreement. And so, our marketing plan could include some of the capabilities that you talked about. What we aren’t doing is specifying a plan that requires approval from ICANN that doesn’t contain some of the precise sunrise provisions that were there before. It’s a standard sunrise that will be rolled out. And I would like Pat to comment further on that part of the process.
Patrick S. Kane – Senior Vice President, Naming and Directory Services Well, definitely we would contemplate changing is to not hold a reservation for grandfathered dot-com registrations during the sunrise. And that’s the modification that we were trying to get approval from ICANN on. And we’ve taken that out, so we can move forward.
Reading this discussion, it seems that perhaps Verisign is just letting a normal sunrise take place before offering a sort of matching opportunity to IDN.com owners. It could look a lot like the .Porn matching program. Or Verisign might have a trick up its sleeve to keep matching domains set aside for unlocking at some time in the future.
The good news for IDN investors: .com transliterations will start rolling out later this year.
I’ve reached out to Verisign for comment and will update this story.
Update 7/25/15: Verisign provided the following statement:
As stated during Verisign’s Q2’15 Earnings call on July 23, we can confirm that our IDN TLDs will have a standard sunrise. We will provide more information on our launch plans when appropriate.
This doesn’t clear up the concern about getting matching domain names. I can think of three reasons Verisign won’t comment on this further at this time:
1. It’s a tricky issue with ICANN, and they want to play it step-by-step to be careful, but they still want to find a way to do the matching. It could also be that they’re trying to get registrars on board. Registrars don’t like the complexity.
2. They don’t know how they’ll do the release after sunrise.
3. They’ve thrown in the towel on domain matching, or have changed how it will work, and don’t want to tell anyone yet.
Steve says
They would be INSANE to let separate owners split the name up. Major confusion guaranteed.
Steve says
When it happens the net will be truly inclusive.
Steve says
Pure idn.idn For .Com is way overdue.
abcbrand.com says
Emboldened by Vox Populi’s .sucks registry success, Verisign now seem ready to embark on the “legalized extortion” path.
IDN.com domain holders may be denied the promised grandfathering, though Verisign has for years been promoting exclusive cross-holdings to link the assorted versions of .com (or .net),
It seems classic bait-and-switch.
They assured us: “the registrant for a second-level domain name in our IDN.IDN, IDN.com or IDN.net will have the sole right (subject to applicable rights protection mechanisms), but not be required to register that identical second-level domain in any of the top-level IDNs.”
Hopefully Verisign will reconsider. Dissolving the IDN.IDN link to .com (or .net) weakens Verisign’s position & suitability as contracted authoritative registry for .com and .net — making a future switch easier: the .com contract expires end Nov. 2018.
Andrew Allemann says
To be clear, they might not need to reconsider. They haven’t exposed their complete plan. It might be they have a way to offer what you’re describing after sunrise.
Steve says
If they don’t offer what abc suggests then they are not fit to run the extensions imo.
It has been a huge bungle since they let idn.cctlds go ahead of .com. They were supposed to be introduced together.
abcbrand.com says
Does ICANN so drastically constrict Verisign? Don’t forget Verisign is not the typical registrar: in the same earnings conference call the CEO boasted of stockpiling “$1.9 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities at the end of the quarter.”
If Verisign’s plans are gratuitously targeted, they should loudly complain. Publicity is likely good for the gTLD program — publicity fuels interest.
Verisign has been quite explicit for years with their promises (quote):” In order to illustrate our approach, we have identified two use cases below:
Use Case No. 1: Bob Smith already has a registration for an IDN.net second level domain name. That second level domain name will be unavailable in all of the new .NET TLDs except to Bob Smith. Bob Smith may choose not to register that second level domain name in any of the new transliterations of the .NET TLDs.
Use Case No. 2: John Doe does not have a registration for an IDN.com second level domain name. John Doe registers a second level domain name in our Thai transliteration of .COM but in no other TLD. That second level domain name will be unavailable in all other transliterations of .COM IDN TLDs and in the .COM registry unless and until John Doe (and only John Doe) registers it in another .COM IDN TLD or in the .COM registry.”
Backtracking now provokes suspicion.
Andrew Allemann says
ICANN isn’t targeting verisign. It’s the opposite. They want change contracts to fit different circumstances
abcbrand.com says
But Verisign is not unsophisticated or without means to fight. For many years they promised grandfathering for IDN.com domain holders. Verisign sidestepped domain name community complaints about confusing transliterations by promoting exclusive cross-linkages between the assorted versions of .com (or .net). Now they’ve contracts (since January) and suddenly sing a different tune. But let’s see how they decide to implement…
Andrew Allemann says
They are sophisticated and have the means to fight. That fight is the reason we don’t see IDN..comIDN out there yet. In some ways, this week’s good news is that IDN.comIDN is closer to reality and should hit later this year. But there’s also reason for concern among those that bought IDN.com domains. It might not be as originally planned.
One thing to note in Verisign’s comments is this:
“This revised approach will not require ICANN approval and is designed to provide end users and businesses with the greatest flexibility and, for registrars, a simple and straightforward framework to serve the market.”
I suspect the complexity of holding back domains for those that have registered the matching domain is a big pain that registrars don’t want to deal with.
Serg says
Thank you. it is a huge issue actually, very few registrars have the ability to *properly* register some of those, and that is not because they are lazy, it is because the information path to the technicalities on such processes, are just .. insane, respectfully;
in fact some domains (.com) can only be done with manual intervention; how is that even possible, on an organization such as Verisign?
doesntmattereh says
thanks for sharing,
can you please define idn.idn in reference to idn.com ?
and in reference to which idns ? all sets ? all languages ? beyond ascii ?
“IDN” investors cannot be ‘quantified’ as one category. there needs to be a technical clarification, i cannot possibly see how the interchangeable characters in some latin and scandinavian languages could be presented as one thing,
“IDN” .. at least not transliterated, it simply wont work for linguistic reasons .. Mr Ashley, Bidzos, Kane are under
the risk of having their plan corrected by the first foreigner IT intern that sees the idea .. please hire linguistic assistance.
Andrew Allemann says
Story has been updated with comment from Verisign
Steve says
“We will provide more information on our launch plans when appropriate”
I guess that means everything is up in the air and sorry for leading you down the garden path for a decade.
class act.
okok says
ClassAct.Legal
abcbrand.com says
This headline’s “Screwed” seems appropriate.
(Or maybe ‘cheated’ is better?)
The plan has been that IDN.com owners have IDN.IDN exclusive right >> but not be required to << register each or any IDN.IDN
We can hope they don't screw with that longstanding promise.
If they dishonor that promise, Verisign will gain many enemies prior to the coming .com monopolist authoritative registry negotiations for 2018.
SomeName says
god, i hate ICANN.
bunch of useless amateurs! time to put the domain management in professional hands…
Serg says
imo, ICANN is right on this one, the reason for so much confusion, is that ALL solutions have been proposed to investors, EXCEPT the one that would work, *linguistically* – and for that, ICANN is spot-on, Versign: not so much.