Two-Month Extension of Wholesale Restore Fee Waiver – UPDATED

This blog was initially published on May 28, 2020. In our July 23, 2020 earnings release the company stated that the wholesale restore fee waiver for expired domains would be extended through the end of 2020. Further information can be found here.

Two months ago we implemented a number of measures to respond to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. These measures were designed to support the communities we serve and in which we are located, while maintaining our focus on providing secure, stable and resilient critical internet infrastructure.

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VERISIGN ANNOUNCES קום. DOMAIN NAMES ARE AVAILABLE FOR GENERAL REGISTRATION

Verisign is pleased to announce that קום., the new, Verisign-operated, internationalized domain name (IDN) extension that is uniquely designed for Hebrew language speakers, is now open for the registration of domain names by the general public on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to availability and the applicable registry policies.* The General Registration Period for קום. began at 00:00:00 UTC on Nov. 5, 2018, following the Landrush Program Period.**

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VERISIGN LAUNCHES קום., A NEW, GENERIC TOP-LEVEL DOMAIN FOR HEBREW SPEAKERS*

*Please note that a domain name registered in the קום. TLD registry is not the same as a domain name registered in the .com TLD registry. In addition, the holder of the registration of a domain name in the קום. TLD registry may not be the same as the holder of the registration of the same domain name in the .com TLD registry.

Verisign is pleased to announce the launch of our phased rollout of קום. in Hebrew script. This new, Verisign-operated internationalized domain name (IDN) extension was created to help businesses and individuals connect with customers in their local language. The Sunrise Period for קום. is open from July 30, 2018 at 00:00:00 UTC through Sept. 4, 2018 at 23:59:59 UTC.

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Verisign Statement on .cc/.tv/IDN License Application Status in China

Verisign obtained licenses to provide domain name registry services for .com and .net in China in July 2016. As such, .com and .net domain name registrations are not affected.

Verisign is engaged in discussions with the Chinese government to obtain licenses to provide domain name registry services for .cc, .tv and our Chinese IDNs. We submitted our updated applications in July 2017. We expect to begin to engage in discussions with the Chinese government about our final evaluation and ultimately obtain licenses for .cc, .tv and our IDNs.

We will continue to distribute our products through the existing group of licensed registrars, which continue to process new .cc and .tv registrations: HiChina, Bizcn, Chinasource and 35 Tech. Renewals of existing .cc and .tv domain name registrations are not affected and will follow the standard renewal process. We view obtaining a license for our Chinese IDNs as a prerequisite to their launch.

Verisign Announces .닷컴 and .닷넷 Domain Names Are Now Available for General Registration

Guest post from June Seo, Director, Verisign Naming Services Korea 

Today, Verisign is excited to announce that .닷컴 and .닷넷, the localized versions of the .com and .net top-level domains (TLDs) in Hangul script, are now open for the registration of domain names by the general public on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to availability and the applicable registry policies.* The General Registration Period for .닷컴 and .닷넷 began at 00:00:00 UTC on Aug. 30, 2016, following the Landrush Program Period.**

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Verisign Announces .コム Domain Names Are Now Available for Anyone to Register

Guest post from Manish Dalal, Vice President, Verisign Naming Services, Asia-Pacific

Today, Verisign is excited to announce the General Registration Period for .コム – the .com you know, now in Japanese – during which anyone can register .コム domain names on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to availability and the applicable registry policies. The General Registration Period for .コム began at 00:00:00 UTC on June 13, 2016, following the Landrush Program Period.*

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Verisign Launches New gTLDs for the Korean Market, .닷컴 and .닷넷

Guest post from June Seo, Director, Verisign Naming Services Korea

Verisign is pleased to announce the launch of our phased rollout of .닷컴 and .닷넷, the localized versions of the .com and .net top-level domains (TLDs) in Hangul script for the Korean market. The Sunrise Period is open from May 16, 2016 through June 19, 2016 for .닷컴, the .com you know, now in Korean, and .닷넷, the evolution of .net for Korea.

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Verisign Opens Landrush Program Period for .コム Domain Names

Guest Post from Manish Dalal, Vice President, Verisign Naming Services, Asia-Pacific

Today, the Landrush Program Period for .コム, the first IDN TLD from Verisign, opens for anyone to register .コム domain names on a first come, first served basis through June 12, 2016. The Landrush Program Period provides businesses and individuals with the opportunity to register .コム domain names before they become generally available to the public on June 13, 2016.

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Priority Access Program for Verisign’s First IDN New gTLD, .コム

Guest post from Manish Dalal, Vice President, Verisign Naming Services Asia 

Verisign launched its first IDN new gTLD, .コム – the .com you know, now in Japanese – on Dec. 9, 2015 at 12:00 a.m. UTC. We recently submitted updated TLD Startup Information for .コム to ICANN, extending the end date for the .コム Sunrise Period from Jan. 31, 2016, to March 14, 2016, and shifting the dates of the subsequent registration periods. ICANN recently confirmed the following updated registration periods for the .コム TLD*:

Sunrise Period: Dec. 9, 2015 – March 14, 2016

Priority Access Program Period: March 15 – May 15, 2016

Landrush Program Period: May 16 – June 12, 2016

General Registration Period: Start Date June 13, 2016

Trademark Claims Period: June 13 – Sept. 11, 2016

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Launch of Verisign’s First IDN New gTLD, .コム

Guest post from Manish Dalal, Vice President, Verisign Naming Services Asia

The composition of the Internet’s population continues to evolve toward a more localized Web. Asia has been leading the way forward as the populations in that region come online and begin creating and consuming content in their local languages. According to Internet World Stats, over 48 percent of all Internet users are located in Asia and, according to W3Techs, approximately 45 percent of all websites in the world are in a language other than English.

Still, navigation of the Internet through a URL is primarily in English. Therefore, by enabling more end users to navigate the Internet in scripts representing their native language, and giving more companies the ability to maintain a common brand identity across many scripts, Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) have the potential to make the Internet more accessible and thus more usable to end users around the world. This accessibility is why IDNs have generated considerable attention since Verisign introduced IDNs at the second-level in 2000.

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