.name Grandfathered10 November 2026 We won! After a long and expensive battle, news just dropped that Verisign is retracting its plan to terminate 22,000 domain names and email redirects. Although they will be closing new registrations for 3rd-level .name domains, all existing domains (including this website) and email redirects will remain indefinitely. This was a team effort. It was inspiring how many talented people joined this fight. From Doytchin who kicked everything off, to Jim who flew to Bali to make the case to ICANN in person, to Patrik, Troy, Huyen, Keith, Judy, Erik, and Ryan who wrote formal reconsideration requests, to my lawyers Jan, Flip and Diégo who threw the book at ICANN, to Beverly, Stefan, Vaughan, Irv, Pablo, Larry, Lionel, Daniel, Ori, Markus, Kirk, Ed, Jeremy, Stephan, Matija, Jan, Simon, Mark, and Evan who filed letters of support. I'd also like to sincerely thank selected individuals within ICANN who had the courage to stand up against the bureaucracy. Without exception, everyone I spoke with was a remarkable person. < Previous | Next > |
.name Grandfathered
In short
Verisign reversed its decision to terminate 22,000 domain names and email redirects after facing sustained pushback. The registry operator will grandfather all current domains and redirects so they stay active indefinitely, though new third-level registrations will be closed. This outcome was achieved through a costly campaign that included formal reconsideration requests, legal challenges delivered to ICANN, and an in-person appeal in Bali.
Key points
- Existing .name third-level domain holders and email redirect users will not lose their se…: Existing .name third-level domain holders and email redirect users will not lose their services.
- Sustained advocacy and legal challenges to ICANN forced the registry operator to change i…: Sustained advocacy and legal challenges to ICANN forced the registry operator to change its course.
- Future availability for third-level .name domains will cease entirely despite the protect…: Future availability for third-level .name domains will cease entirely despite the protection of legacy accounts.