news ICANN declares coronavirus a “natural disaster” to protect expired domains

Domain.Drop · Apr 9, 2020

I'm glad the original owners who needed the considerate support got it, and I wonder how much this will impact the result of everyone's domain hunting efforts over the past weeks.

Registrants unable to renew their domain names when they expire may not lose them, following a decree from ICANN today.

The organization has declared the coronavirus a “natural disaster” and invoked part of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement that permits registrars to keep hold of domains that have come to the end of their post-expiration renewal period.

Under the RAA, registrars have to delete domains a maximum of 45 days after the reg period expires, unless there are “extenuating circumstances” such as an ongoing UDRP case, lawsuit or technical stability dangers.

There’s no accounting for natural disasters in the contract, but ICANN has the discretion to name any “other circumstance as approved specifically by ICANN” an extenuating circumstance. That’s what it’s done here.

It’s invoked this provision once before, following Hurricane Maria in late 2017.

ICANN said that policies to specifically protect domains in the event of natural disasters should be considered.

The new coronavirus exception applies to all registrars in all gTLDs, although implementation will vary by registrar.

The announcement follows Verisign’s announcement last week that it is waiving its registry-level restore fee for .com and .net domains until June 1.

http://domainincite.com/25407-icann...a-natural-disaster-to-protect-expired-domains

FolioTeam · Apr 9, 2020

Thanks for sharing

The Durfer · Apr 9, 2020

pb · Apr 9, 2020

Will it keep registrars from grabbing the domains for themselves or auctioning them off, though?

Welliton · Apr 9, 2020

Thanks

anantj · Apr 9, 2020

What's the implication of this? Does this mean that no domains will drop for the next few weeks? How will it be decided who is "unable" to renew their domains right now?

Domain.Drop · Apr 9, 2020

Great question, @anantj - according to the passage, the ICANN has invoked this provision once before, in response to Hurricane Maria. I imagine they'll follow the same guidelines as they did for that crisis:

... ICANN considers hurricane damage such a circumstance, so its contractual compliance department will not pursue registrars who fail to expire domains on time when the registrant has been affected by the disaster.

I take this to mean registrars have the support of the ICANN to withhold domains from release for backdrop orders and auctions. Anyone have another interpretation?

pb · Apr 9, 2020

As far as I understand, on the example of .com, registrar has a renewal fee frozen in verisign's account for the period of domain expiration and it is released/refunded only after deletion. If that is correct, I doubt many registrars will be happy about getting their funds frozen for an even longer period.

tonyk2000 · Apr 9, 2020

For this scenario to work, the registries (Verisign, etc.) should agree not to autorenew domains on expiration date. Currently, registrars pay registries for instant autorenewal and is refunded if the domain is later deleted. It is possible - there are no technical limitations to have the expired domain working.

Without such an action from the registries - it would not work, as registrars will still need to fund the registry renewals, and without a reasonable timeframe to receive a refund.

It would be interesting to see what will hugedomains+godaddy do now. Hugedomains own portfolio, being autoselected + automatically priced, was never the best portfolio (in quality/price ratio(. So, in crisis times, cooperation with godaddy expired auctions (inflating prices) should be the major $$$ income source for them. Without this income - what will they end up with?

Domain.Drop · Apr 9, 2020

@tonyk2000: So, in crisis times, cooperation with godaddy expired auctions (inflating prices) should be the major $$$ income source for them. Without this income - what will they end up with?

With the same outcome as all of our restaurants, entertainment venues, and malls, I suppose.

Tangent: I can't imagine how stressed the small ma-and-pa business around the world are now. The bits of aid filtering through from government aid and local relief efforts must feel like bandaids in comparison to the financial hemorrhaging all around us.

Note to self: Be extra-thankful that all of your ventures are digital.

The Durfer · Apr 9, 2020

there is a safety auto-pilot rite? I mean the server rooms can run without people if they had to? yipes.

Domain.Drop · Apr 9, 2020

So long as nothing burns out - and the systems are entirely dependent on self-sufficient sources of energy. *fingers crossed*

anantj · Apr 11, 2020

Though it is not clear if this declaration caused Verisign to waive the restoration fee (already confirmed as supported by @Epik.com is a good move. Hopefully, other registrars will follow and also not like @Dynadot who are still charging $10 as a late fee

Pay.My.id · Apr 11, 2020

Thank for sharing

Domain.Drop · Apr 11, 2020

Agreed, @anantj. Love @Epik.com for a lot of reasons. @Dynadot, not so much - even the shopping experience is painful.

No matter the industry, never make interactions annoying, let alone when your competitors are so on point in just about every aspect!

anantj · Apr 11, 2020

Just saw this post by @EJS https://domaininvesting.com/registrars-respond-to-icann-statement-about-relief-for-registrants/

This has official statements from several top registrars so this is a good and informative post.
From the same post, Epik, Namecheap and Godaddy's statements are the clearest and most beneficial.

Name.com, Web.com registrars have weasely language of working with clients or asking contact with support which the whole policy a judgement decision. Not so good.

Dynadot already covered above so their statement is incomplete/inaccurate since they ARE charging a late fee (which is entirely their own)

Edit: I forgot. Thank you @EJS. Very helpful post

alcy · Apr 11, 2020

this is a nice gesture of course. but it will never work and is not really doable across all registrars for all domain owners.

the technical aspect of this would be way too much work. in terms of changing code, algorithms etc.

but a nice thought, thanks icann! they say its the thought that counts...

for my fellow domainers: plz do not rely on this info thinking you will own your domains until Xth day past expiry.

news ICANN declares coronavirus a “natural disaster” to protect expired domains

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