Public Comment

Public Comment is a vital part of our multistakeholder model. It provides a mechanism for stakeholders to have their opinions and recommendations formally and publicly documented. It is an opportunity for the ICANN community to effect change and improve policies and operations.

New gTLDs

Open: 31 October 07
Closed: 20 November 07

Explanation:The GNSO Council voted to send a set of principles, recommendations and implementation guidelines intended to result in a straightforward process that awards new gTLDs if applicants satisfy the pre-published criteria.

In September the GNSO Council approved its Final Report [PDF, 516K] on the Introduction of New Top-Level Domains (Report) after two years of work and numerous public comment periods. The GNSO developed this proposed policy through its bottom-up, multi-stakeholder policy development process, and worked in coordination with an ICANN staff team to help ensure that their final recommendations and guidelines are “implementable.” The questions that have been addressed by the GNSO in the development of new gTLD policy are complex and involve technical, economic, operational, legal, public policy, and other considerations.

The proposed policy provides direction to staff to enable the implementation of a clear, predictable, timely road map for the application process including: objective business and technical thresholds, pre-published contract terms, evaluation criteria, and dispute resolution processes. Detailed information is provided at http://gnso.icann.org/issues/new-gtlds/pdp-dec05-fr-parta-08aug07.htm.

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