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▲ agwa 6 days ago

Although the .org price caps are gone, the registry has to raise prices uniformly for all domains. They can't target popular domains for discriminatory pricing. ccTLDs can.

▲ryan29 6 days ago | parent [-]

> They can't target popular domains for discriminatory pricing.

That's not completely accurate. Section 2.10c of the base registry agreement says the following in relation to the uniform pricing obligations:

> The foregoing requirements of this Section 2.10(c) shall not apply for (i) purposes of determining Renewal Pricing if the registrar has provided Registry Operator with documentation that demonstrates that the applicable registrant expressly agreed in its registration agreement with registrar to higher Renewal Pricing at the time of the initial registration

Most registrars have blanket statements in their registration agreement that say premium domains may be subject to higher renewal pricing. For registry premium domains, there are no contractual limits on pricing or price discrimination. AFAIK, the registries can price premium domains however they want.

▲agwa 6 days ago | parent [-]

You omitted key portions of that section. Here's the full quote (emphasis added):

> The foregoing requirements of this Section 2.10(c) shall not apply for (i) purposes of determining Renewal Pricing if the registrar has provided Registry Operator with documentation that demonstrates that the applicable registrant expressly agreed in its registration agreement with registrar to higher Renewal Pricing at the time of the initial registration of the domain name following clear and conspicuous disclosure of such Renewal Pricing to such registrant

Furthermore:

> The parties acknowledge that the purpose of this Section 2.10(c) is to prohibit abusive and/or discriminatory Renewal Pricing practices imposed by Registry Operator without the written consent of the applicable registrant at the time of the initial registration of the domain and this Section 2.10(c) will be interpreted broadly to prohibit such practices

Yes, premium domains can be priced higher, but the Renewal Pricing has to be "clear and conspicuous" to the registrant at the time of initial registration. Are you aware of any litigation related to this?

▲ryan29 5 days ago | parent [-]

The exact pricing isn’t disclosed. All they do is tell you the price will be “higher”. Anyone registering a premium domain is getting higher than uniform renewal pricing, so whatever they’re doing right now is considered adequate and that’s just generic ToS in the registration agreement AFAIK.

It sounds like you think I’m being deceptive. Do you know about any registry premium domains where someone has a contractually guaranteed price?

Also, based on my own anecdotal experience, ICANN doesn’t interpret 2.10c broadly and they allow the registries to push the boundaries as much as they want.