[registrars] Need discussion of Transfers after expiration

[Mike Lampson <lampson@iaregistry.com>]

Hello all,

One of the things I heard mentioned by a large Registrar during the
teleconference this morning was that once a domain was past its expiration
date, the Registrant has no choice but to renew with that Registrar.  This
was mentioned rather abruptly late in the call and I'm not sure it was
noticed by the majority of the listeners.

This should not be the case.  VeriSign Registry gives Registrars a 45 day
grace period after a domain expires to renew it.  During that 45 day period,
VeriSign auto-renews the domain and debits the current Registrar.  If the
domain is then deleted OR TRANSFERRED away from that Registrar during that
45 day grace period, the deleting/losing Registrar is credited back the
auto-renewal fee.  See the following VeriSign advisory for more information:

  http://www.verisign-grs.com/support/advisories/2000/advisory_041300.html

Registrants should not be required to renew with their current Registrar if
a transfer request arrives after the expiration date but prior to the
Registrar's cancellation (i.e. deletion) of the domain registration.

As part of whatever decisions or plans occur during next Wednesday's
teleconference, let us also include a discussion of the right thing to do
regarding Transfers during this 45 day grace period.

Thanks,

Mike Lampson
The Registry at Info Avenue, LLC