Executive Summary ICANN is posting today for public comment Verisign's proposed agreement for renewal of the 2006 .com Registry Agreement between ICANN and Verisign. This proposal is a result of discussions between ICANN and VeriSign, and will be considered by the ICANN Board after public comment. The current agreement will expire on 30 November 2012. Public comment may be submitted through April 26, 2012 and viewed at: http://www.icann.org/en/news/public-comment/com-renewal-27mar12-en.htm This summary describes important aspects of the registry agreement renewal process, the content of the proposed agreement renewal, and certain background to the proposed agreement. This summary is accompanied by the "red line" version of the agreement and several documents that describe and summarize the proposal. Upcoming agreements due to be renewed in 2012 such as .biz, .info, .name and .org will follow a similar process. Renewal Process Renewal Provisions The existing .com Registry Agreement, like other registry agreements, provides that the agreement shall be renewed for an additional term upon its expiration, absent a material breach of the Agreement by the registry operator, circumstances not present here. The existing .com registry agreement further provides, as do other registry agreements, that the terms of the renewed agreement shall be the same as the terms of the existing agreement, provided that, if those terms are not similar to the terms generally in effect in the registry agreements of the largest registries, renewal shall be on terms reasonably necessary to render the terms similar to those in other registry agreements, except that the following terms shall not be subject to such change: pricing terms, terms for renewal or termination, certain obligations of ICANN, certain terms regarding the approval of new registry services, the definition of registry services, and limitations on Consensus Policies. However, some types of changes are available, e.g., those that make the agreement consistent with other registry agreements. In addition, VeriSign (like all other gTLD registries and registrars) is obligated to comply with Consensus Policies that are developed and recommended by the GNSO and approved by the ICANN Board (subject to restrictions in existing registry agreements). Upcoming agreements due to be renewed in 2012 such as .biz, .info, .name and .org have similar provisions. Renewal Discussions The proposed amended .com registry agreement is a result of discussions between ICANN and VeriSign, and will be considered by the ICANN Board after public comment. ICANN received Verisign's proposal for renewal terms and then amendments were discussed and ICANN and Verisign agreed to post the terms of the proposed agreement, subject to community input, and approval by the Boards of ICANN and Verisign. Most of the proposed amendments seek to modernize and bring the .com agreement in line with the largest gTLDs and other recently executed agreements. Other amendments are specifically designed to protect and serve registrants. Public Comment Following the ICANN model, these explanatory documents and public comment will inform the Board discussion and decision-making. ICANN views public comment as an important step in the renewal of registry agreements before ICANN's Board consideration. The community is invited to review the proposed amendments and provide input. Contractual compliance Review As part of the renewal process, ICANN conducted a review of Verisign's recent performance under its registry agreement. The compliance review covered areas including: DNS Availability; Equal Registrar Access to the SRS; Bulk Zone File Access; Payment of Required Fees; and Submission of Monthly Reports. Verisign was found to have met its contractual requirements. The assessment can be found at: http://www.icann.org/en/resources/compliance/reports/operator-verisign-com-27mar12-en.pdf [PDF, 239 KB] Renewal Content The amendments to the agreement are proposed in order to: assure consistency across registries with respect to certain standard terms and provisions (e.g., clarifications to the assignment and subcontracting provision and the introduction of indemnification obligations);

update the agreement to reflect changes that have occurred since the current .com Registry Agreement was signed (e.g., updating references to RFCs, and other technical changes);

allow the registry operator to better serve the internet community and protect consumers (e.g., more quickly address certain imminent threats to the security and stability of the TLD or the Internet, and implement two new provisions regarding abusive behavior: (i) an abuse point of contact, and (ii) a requirement to remove orphan glue records); and

align the .com registry agreement with the recently executed .net registry agreement (e.g., adopt the same service levels that are currently contained in the .net registry agreement). There are six documents posted for public comment. ICANN invites the public to review the redline version of the .com registry agreement; however other documents are available to provide better clarity and understanding of the proposed changes. Proposed 2012 .com Renewal Agreement (clean) [PDF, 119 KB]

Redline showing changes from the current (2006) .com agreement [PDF, 139 KB]

Proposed renewal Agreement appendices (clean) [PDF, 277 KB]

Redline showing changes from the current .com appendices [PDF, 365 KB]

Redline showing changes from the current .net agreement [PDF, 145 KB]

Summary and explanation of changes from the 2006 to the proposed 2012 .com Registry Agreement [PDF, 147 KB] (Note: there is no redline provided against the new gTLD base agreement given the significant differences in structure and language that would make such a redline of limited use. However, below find a listing of specific amendments and a brief discussion of other registry-specific issues.) Brief Description of Key Amendments This section is organized by: Changes to modernize the 2006 agreement: adopting, for example, up-to-date stability and security standards, improvements in compliance tools, and anticipated improvements. Changes to conform to other registry agreements including the 2011 .net Registry Agreement: updating, for example, SLA's and added stability / security improvements. Other Changes: such as fees and a commitment to cooperate with ICANN's registrar compliance activities. The most significant proposed changes: Changes to Modernize the 2006 Agreement 1.1. Functional and Performance Specifications revised to: 1.1.1. Require support for IPv6: registry operator will accept IPv6 addresses as glue where applicable, and will offer IPv6 access to the Shared Registration System (e.g., EPP), Whois, and DNS servers. 1.1.2. Require removal of orphan glue records in connection with malicious conduct: consistent with advice from ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee, registry operator will remove a orphan glue records so they can't be used to support malicious conduct. 1.1.3. Require support for DNSSEC: registry operator will implement Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) to sign its TLD zone files and accept public-key material from child domain names in a secure manner; providing the ability to authenticate the data published in the DNS. 1.1.4. Require publication of registry abuse contact information: registry operator will provide its accurate contact details including a valid email and mailing address as well as a primary contact for handling inquiries related to malicious conduct in the TLD. 1.1.5. Require the parties to periodically negotiate in good faith regarding implementation of new escrow, Whois and technical specifications: registry operator and ICANN agree to engage in good faith negotiations, at least once every eighteen months, regarding possible implementation of new RFCs related to Data Escrow, Whois, and other Technical and Functional Specifications. 1.1.6. Require compliance with IDNA and IDN guidelines: registry operator will comply with the latest technical standards regarding Internationalized Domain Names, follow the ICANN IDN implementation guidelines, and publish its IDN tables with IANA. 1.1.7. Allow ICANN to use multiple monitoring locations for DNS and to monitor TCP queries: allows ICANN to implement a new Service Level Agreement monitoring system (also to be used for new gTLDs) to monitor DNS service from registry operator. 1.2. Whois: added a provision (in Appendix 5) requiring adoption of a replacement of the WHOIS protocol, if and when it is standardized in the IETF. It is expected that this new protocol will support internationalized domain names and data, standardized query, response, and error handling, etc. 1.3. Monthly Reports Specification: revised monthly report format (Appendix 4) to include more data. 1.4. Audit: added provision giving ICANN broad contractual audit rights to facilitate contractual compliance efforts. Changes to Align with Other Large Registry Agreements 2.1. Service Level Agreement: enhance performance specification, comparable to the performance specifications required in the .net registry agreement 2.2. Threats to Security and Stability: added new provision that would allow the registry operator to temporarily prevent the registration of one or more names in the TLD in order to respond to an imminent threat to the security and/or stability of the TLD or the Internet. 2.3. Use of Traffic Data: clarified that the use of traffic data would be limited to "thin" registry model data even if registry were to follow the "thick" registry model. 2.4. Prohibition on Universal Wildcard Functions: clarification that prohibition on "SiteFinder" or other universal wildcard functions does not prohibit provision of name service or any other non-registry service for a domain or zone used for other than registration services. 2.5. Indemnification of ICANN: added broad indemnification rights in favor of ICANN. Other Changes 3.1. Registry Fees: replaced lump sum quarterly fee with a fee based on $0.25 per transaction in the TLD. This is a substantial increase in Verisign's contribution. 3.2. Cooperation with Compliance Actions Against Registrars: added a provision requiring the registry operator to implement ICANN ordered registrar suspensions to facilitate ICANN's contractual compliance efforts. 3.3. Price Caps: no substantive changes to price cap and price increase provision; agreement updated to reflect the current fee cap of $7.85.