The company paid $135 million in a 2016 auction before a drawn-out dispute.
After more than a decade of legal wrangling and procedural challenges, Verisign has announced that it now controls the .web top-level domain (TLD). The development marks the end of a long-running conflict that followed the 2012 expansion of new generic top-level domains and a high-profile auction in 2016.
Nu Dot Co submitted an application for the .web TLD during the 2012 expansion round. When the formal application window closed, Verisign expressed interest in acquiring the .web string and reached an arrangement in which Nu Dot Co would participate in the required ICANN auction on Verisign’s behalf. The plan called for Nu Dot Co to bid in the mandatory auction and for Verisign to acquire the winning rights afterwards.
In the ICANN auction of last resort held in 2016, Nu Dot Co emerged as the winner. The final price reflected the second-highest bid submitted in that auction, which was $135 million. That amount was significant and drew attention from other applicants who had also sought control of .web.
Several competing applicants were displeased with both the auction outcome and the process that followed. A point of contention was Nu Dot Co’s decision to use ICANN’s auction mechanism instead of pursuing a private settlement among applicants. In some private resolution scenarios, the applicants who lost could have received substantial payouts, potentially in the tens of millions of dollars. Reports at the time indicated that at least one applicant believed it would have received a guaranteed payment if a private deal had been reached.
Legal challenges quickly followed. Identity Digital, operating under its former name Donuts, filed a lawsuit contesting the auction arrangement. That case was later dismissed by the court. After exhausting its domestic legal avenues, one applicant moved to the Independent Review Process (IRP) overseen by ICANN; that effort did not result in a successful reversal of the auction outcome.
The dispute continued in various forms and through different corporate changes. Afilias, the organization associated with the second-highest bid in the auction, became involved in subsequent challenges. Identity Digital later acquired Afilias, though that acquisition did not include the original .web application tied to the earlier litigation. Even with these corporate shifts, the lingering legal and procedural objections persisted for years.
In its announcement, Verisign said the .web domain has now been delegated following the “successful resolution of all previous disputes related to the generic top-level domain (gTLD), the details of which are confidential.” That phrasing indicates that confidential agreements or settlements may have been reached with parties who previously raised objections, although Verisign did not disclose specifics.
With delegation complete, Verisign plans to make .web domains available to the public and intends to begin selling registrations through its channel partners later this year. Unlike the .com registry, which has established pricing practices and market expectations, the .web registry will be free to set its own retail pricing. Industry observers anticipate that Verisign may price .web registrations above typical .com rates, positioning some desirable names as premium registrations to capture additional value. At the same time, the company might use introductory pricing or first-year discounts to encourage early adoption and stimulate demand.
Verisign is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings soon, and that public update may provide additional context about the company’s strategy for launching .web and how it expects the new TLD to contribute to revenue over time. However, it is unlikely the company will offer detailed registration forecasts or disclose exact pricing plans until the launch window nears.
The long resolution of the .web matter highlights how contested and complex the new gTLD process has become for high-value strings. Auctions, court challenges, corporate acquisitions, and confidential settlements have all played a role in shaping the final outcome. For registrants and domain investors, the arrival of .web under Verisign’s management will be a development to watch—both for pricing trends and for which domain names are offered as part of the general release versus premium lists.
As the registry prepares to open registrations, the community will be watching how Verisign balances availability, pricing, and promotions to establish .web’s place in an already crowded domain name market.