LOS ANGELES - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) opened a new Public Comment proceeding regarding the proposed renewal of the .COM Registry Agreement (.COM RA). The current .COM RA between ICANN and Verisign, Inc. (Verisign), the registry operator for the .COM top-level domain (TLD), was established in 2012 and is set to expire on November 30, 2024. There have been three amendments to this agreement in 2016, 2019, and 2020, according to the official website of ICANN.

The renewal proposal is the result of bilateral discussions between ICANN and Verisign. The proposed renewal RA includes new contractual obligations from the 2023 Global Amendment to the Base gTLD Registry Agreement; obligations from the 2024 Global Amendment to the Base gTLD Registry Agreement; commitments to further enhance security, stability, and resilience; and an updated three-party Data Escrow Agreement.

It includes updates to not only the RA, but also a Letter of Intent between the two parties originally signed in 2020 and amended in 2023.

Submissions Opening Date: Thursday, September 26, 2024.

Submissions Closing Date: Tuesday, November 5, 2024.