Businesses and individuals
can participate now in phase two of .biz roll-out
Mountain View, CA, June 19, 2001 - VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:
VRSN), the leading provider of Internet trust services, today announced
that businesses and individuals may now submit applications for domain
names ending in .biz at its domain name storefront (http://newdomains.networksolutions.com/gtld/tm_landingpage.jsp).
The application phase for the new generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) is
the second in a three-phase roll-out process, with the Intellectual
Property trademark claims service launched in May, the applications
for domain name registrations opening today, and real-time, live registrations
scheduled to begin in October 2001.
Dot-biz, one of seven new gTLDs expected to be introduced
this year, is a new Web extension (along with .com and .net) intended
for business or commercial purposes. Filing a Domain Name Application
from June 18th through September 25th enters the applicant into a Domain
Name review in which the .biz registry will compare each Domain Name Application with
the Trademark Claim Forms submitted by trademark owners during the filing
period, now extended through August 6th. Where there is an exact match
between a .biz
domain name and a previously submitted trademark, the domain name applicants
will be notified and required to confirm their desire to continue with
the application process. After September 25th, NeuLevel, the .biz registry, will begin processing the accumulated queue
of Domain Name Applications and allocating domain name registrations.
If multiple applications are submitted for the same domain name, only
one application will be selected at random by the .biz registry. As such, applicants who choose to file multiple
application requests for the same domain name will statistically increase
their chances of obtaining domain names during the actual registration
process.
"This is a one-time opportunity for businesses
and individuals to get ahead of the real-time registration process and
formally request the domain names they hope to obtain," said Steve
Lorenc, vice president-Web Identity, VeriSign. "We urge our customers
to take advantage of this simple step towards getting the Web addresses
they need to extend their presence on the Web."
Filing a Domain Name Application through the VeriSign
domain name storefront costs U.S. $5 per application, whether the actual
registration of the domain name is successful or not. Volume discounts
are available for those submitting multiple applications for a single
domain name.
VeriSign plans to notify applicants of the outcome
of the Domain Name Selection process between September 25th and October
1st of this year. The .biz registry is scheduled to open for real-time registration
on October 1, 2001, at which point all successfully registered and undisputed .biz Domain
Names will go live as Web addresses.
gTLDs like today's .com, .net and .org help ease navigation on the Internet by separating Web
addresses into discrete, defined categories. Dot-biz is one of seven
new gTLDs expected to be introduced throughout 2001. Beginning in late
July it is expected that, Afilias, the registry for .info, will offer a 30-day sunrise period during which anyone
with a registered national trademark can apply for a corresponding .info Domain
Name. The two other relatively unrestricted gTLDs - .pro and .name - are expected to open to the public through phased launches,
similar to the introduction of .biz and .info. The other three extensions - .museum, .aero and .coop - are "restricted" gTLDs and are not expected
to require as many phases to launch. For more information, including
an overview of the process of choosing the new gTLDs and how to request
Domain Names in each one, see http://newdomains.networksolutions.com/gtld/tm_landingpage.jsp
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) is the leading provider of trusted infrastructure
services to Web sites, enterprises, electronic commerce service providers
and individuals. The company's Domain Name, digital certificate and
payment services provide the critical Web identity, authentication and
transaction infrastructure that online businesses require to conduct
secure e-commerce and communications. VeriSign's services are available
through its Web sites (www.verisign.com
and www.networksolutions.com)
or through its direct sales force and reseller partners around the world.
Statements in this announcement other than
historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results
to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking
statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others,
VeriSign's limited operating history under its current business structure,
risks that the Department of Commerce won't approve the new registry
agreements, uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and potential
fluctuations in quarterly operating results, increased competition,
risks associated with the company's international business and risks
related to potential security breaches. More information about potential
factors that could affect the company's business and financial results
is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
especially in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2000. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update
any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
VeriSign is a registered trademark of VeriSign,
Inc. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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