closed Second Proceeding for Proposed Language for Draft Sections of the Next Round Applicant Guidebook

Outcome

In total, twelve Public Comments were submitted by stakeholders from across the community on the proposed language for draft sections of the Next Round Applicant Guidebook (AGB). Commenters considered whether the proposed language was consistent with the Final Report on the new gTLD Subsequent Procedures (SubPro) Policy Development Process (Final Report) outputs and some provided suggestions for amendments and/or clarification of the language on certain topics. All the Public Comments received will be carefully considered by ICANN org. Any changes required to the proposed language will be reviewed with the SubPro Implementation Review Team (IRT).

ICANN org ensures that requirements of the Next Round are made clear for applicants by 1) soliciting input from the ICANN community on the proposed language of the AGB; and, 2) collaborating with the IRT to make sure it is consistent with SubPro Final Report outputs.

What We Received Input On

This is the second in a series of Public Comment proceedings that will seek input from the ICANN community on proposed language for the Applicant Guidebook (AGB) for the New gTLD Program: Next Round. Specifically, ICANN org is looking for input from the community on whether the proposed language is consistent with the relevant outputs from the Final Report on the New gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process. It should be noted that the proposed language has been developed in collaboration with the Subsequent Procedures Implementation Review Team.

Specifically, ICANN org has published the following draft sections for input:

• Subsequent Application Rounds (Topic 3: Applications Assessed in Rounds)
• Background Screening (Topic 22: Registrant Protections)
• String Similarity Review (Topic 24: String Similarity Evaluations)
• Internationalized Domain Names (Topic 25: IDNs)
• Dispute Resolution Procedures After Delegation (Topic 33: Dispute Resolution Procedures After Delegation)
• Registrar-Non-Discrimination / Registry/Registrar Standardization (Topic 37: Registrar Non-Discrimination / Registry/Registrar Standardization)
• Registrar Support for New gTLDs (Topic 38: Registrar Support for New gTLDs)
• Root Zone Label Generation Rules (Topic 25: IDNs)
• Closed Generics (Topic 23: Closed Generics)

Please note that some of the sections in this Public Comment proceeding may be updated following review by the Internationalized Domain Name Sub-Track of the Implementation Review Team. As a reminder, all sections of the AGB are expected to be submitted for a final period of Public Comment in May 2025.

Background

On 18 February 2021, the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) approved the Final Report on the new gTLD Subsequent Procedures Policy Development Process and transmitted it to the ICANN Board for consideration as required by the ICANN Bylaws. The Final Report presents final recommendations, implementation guidance, and other outputs relating to the next round of new gTLDs.

In the 16 March 2023 Board Resolution, the ICANN Board directed ICANN org to begin the implementation on a subset of outputs from the Final Report. Subsequently, an Implementation Review Team (IRT) was formed and has been assisting ICANN org with implementation of the outputs since its first meeting on 16 May 2023. The Board has since taken additional action on further subsets of outputs from the Final Report, including on 10 September 2023, 26 October 2023, and 8 June 2024.

ICANN org conducted the first Public Comment proceeding from 1 February - 19 March 2024 and produced a summary report on 2 April 2024. ICANN org also reviewed the comments with the IRT.

Supporting Information