closed Proposed Updates to the Trademark Clearinghouse Requirements

Outcome

In total, five Public Comments were submitted by stakeholders from across the community on the proposed updates to the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) Requirements.

Commenters considered whether the revised Section 2.3.6 of the TMCH Requirements and the proposed language for new Section 2.3.7 are consistent with Sunrise Final Recommendation #8 from the RPM Phase 1 PDP. Commenters also considered the 2026 Round-related updates, including changes to variant terminology made to align with the 2026 Base gTLD Registry Agreement (RA). In addition, commenters considered other updates, such as refreshed links to TMDB documentation in Section 1.1 of the TMCH Requirements and the relocation of certain provisions (e.g., the Qualified Launch Program) from addenda into the main body of the agreement to create a more streamlined structure.

All Public Comments received were reviewed and carefully considered by ICANN org. Any substantive changes required to the proposed updates to the TMCH Requirements will be reviewed with the Subsequent Procedures (SubPro) Implementation Review Team (IRT) to the extent related to policy implementation.

What We Received Input On

This Public Comment proceeding seeks input from the ICANN community on proposed updates to the TMCH Requirements. The TMCH Requirements describe the detailed requirements for registry operators in relation to their Sunrise and Trademark Claims periods. Updates include the implementation of Sunrise Final Recommendation #8 from the first phase of a Policy Development Process (PDP) on a Review of All Rights Protection Mechanisms in All gTLDs and revisions to account for the next expansion of the gTLD space.

The RPM Phase 1 PDP proposed a set of enhancements to improve the effectiveness of RPMs in the subsequent round and recommended that these updates should apply to registry operators in the next gTLD expansion round. Sunrise Final Recommendation #8 is one of these enhancements, and it is reflected in the proposed updates to the TMCH Requirements. As such, new gTLD registry operators under the 2026 Base Registry Agreement will be required to comply with the updated TMCH Requirements, which are being revised as outlined below.

Please also note that the draft of the TMCH Requirements being released for Public Comment is based on the updated version following feedback received during the August 2023 Public Comment on Proposed Updates to Existing RPM Documentation. This updated version of the TMCH Requirements, developed in consultation with the RPM Implementation Review Team (IRT) as part of the ongoing RPM Phase 1 Implementation project, implements three recommendations (Trademark Claims Final Recommendations 2, 5, and 6) from the RPM Phase 1 PDP Final Report, which was adopted by the ICANN Board in January 2022. Accordingly, this revised language (located in sections 3.3.1.2, 3.4.3, 3.4.3.1, 3.4.3.2, 3.4.4, and in Exhibits A and B of the Trademark Claims Notice within the TMCH Requirements) is considered final with respect to the 2026 Base Registry Agreement.

ICANN org proposes the following updates to the TMCH Requirements, as compared to the TMCH Requirements from February 2025:

• Sunrise Final Recommendation #8 (RPM Phase 1 PDP): Section 2.3.6 of the TMCH Requirements has been revised, and draft language has been proposed for Section 2.3.7, in line with Sunrise Final Recommendation #8. Under this recommendation, the Sunrise Dispute Resolution Policy (SDRP) should no longer be intended to address challenges to Sunrise registrations based on an invalid Trademark Record as the registry operator is not the best-placed party to adjudicate challenges to the Trademark Record validity in the TMCH because the registry operator is reliant on trademark eligibility information provided by the TMCH. Instead, the recommendations note that the TMCH dispute resolution procedure should be the primary mechanism for such challenges as it is the TMCH Validation Provider’s role to confirm the accuracy of the information submitted by a Trademark Holder or Trademark Agent (on behalf of a Trademark Holder) and that the Trademark Record meets the eligibility requirements for inclusion in the Clearinghouse. In this context, the registry operator must immediately suspend the domain registration to allow the registrant to challenge the validity of the Trademark Record through the TMCH dispute resolution process. These updates are being made to the TMCH Requirements to reflect this change.
• Next Round-Related Updates: Updates include changes to variant terminology, such as replacing “IDN Variants” with “variant second-level names” to align with the 2026 Base Registry Agreement. Other updates were developed so that the revised TMCH Requirements could apply to registry operators under the 2026 Base Registry Agreement as well as those operating under the existing Base Registry Agreement (approved by the ICANN Board on 21 January 2024).
• Other Updates: Updates include refreshed links to TMDB documents in Section 1.1 of the TMCH Requirements and moving provisions directly into the body of the agreement (e.g., Qualified Launch Program Addendum) rather than in the addendum for a more streamlined approach. In the redlined version of the TMCH Requirements, we have redlined Section 4.5.1 against the addendum for ease of review.

Please see the redline showing incremental changes against the February 2025 version for reference.

In addition, to ensure consistency across gTLDs and maintain a uniform approach to rights protection, ICANN org proposes that the updated TMCH Requirements also apply to existing gTLD registry operators from the 2012 Round (those on the revised Base gTLD RA (approved by the ICANN Board on 21 January 2024)). This update is expected to have minimal operational impact while promoting alignment with the latest framework. See further below for more information on the expected impacts on existing gTLD registry operators and their registrars. Please also see the redline showing cumulative changes against the May 2014 version for reference.

Expected Impacts

Existing Registry Operators

• For existing registry operators that are or will be operating a Trademark Claims Service must check that the acceptance date is at most 12 months in the past. (TMCH Requirements, Section 3.4.4; revised to implement Trademark Claims Final Recommendation #5 from the RPM Phase 1 PDP Final Report)
• For existing registry operators that have not yet launched their TLDs, the requirement to report Qualified Launch Program (QLP) domain names is revised such that registry operators are now required to provide the lists to ICANN only upon request, rather than automatically. (TMCH Requirements, Section 4.5.1.6.2; revised to account for the next expansion of the gTLD space)

Registrars

• Must also deliver the Claims Notice in the same language as the registration agreement (previously phrased as “should”) and the Claims Notice must include a link to a webpage on the ICANN org website which contains translations of the Claims Notice in all six UN languages. (TMCH Requirements, Section 3.3.1.2; revised to implement Trademark Claims Final Recommendation #2 from the RPM Phase 1 PDP Final Report)
• Must provide the registry operator with the exact date and time the registrant accepted the Claims Notice, which must occur within seven days prior to the Effective Allocation time. For pre-registration scenarios, the acceptance timestamp may be older than seven days provided that the Claims Notice information has not changed, in which case the acceptance may remain valid for up to 12 months. If the Claims Notice information has changed, the registrant must acknowledge the updated Claims Notice, and that acceptance is valid for up to seven days. (TMCH Requirements, Sections 3.4.3, 3.4.3.1, 3.4.3.2; revised to implement Trademark Claims Final Recommendation #5 from the RPM Phase 1 PDP Final Report)
• Must provide prospective domain name registrants with the updated Claims Notice using the revised language specified in the Claims Notice Form. (TMCH Requirements, Trademark Claims Notice Template for Registrars in Exhibit A; revised to implement Trademark Claims Final Recommendation #6 from the RPM Phase 1 PDP Final Report)

To this end, the Guided Submission form will be used to seek community feedback on the updates to the TMCH Requirements, as compared to the TMCH Requirements from February 2025, and on the expected impacts outlined above.

Background

On 16 January 2022, the ICANN Board adopted all thirty-five (35) recommendations from the Final Report of the first phase of the Policy Development Process (PDP) on a Review of All Rights Protection Mechanisms (RPMs) in All Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) and directed ICANN org to commence implementation. Phase 1 focused on reviewing all the RPMs launched under the 2012 New gTLD Program including the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH).

While most of the outputs from the RPM Phase 1 PDP Final Report are being implemented through the ongoing RPM Phase 1 Implementation project, a set of recommendations, including Sunrise Final Recommendation #8, are being implemented as part of the work track of the New gTLD Program: Next Round as these recommendations concern updates to the next version of the Applicant Guidebook or the Base Registry Agreement.

As part of this Public Comment period, ICANN org is sharing two versions of the revised TMCH Requirements:

• One displaying only the proposed changes discussed above, for which community input is requested, and
• A second version showing all redlines, including those from the RPM Phase 1 Implementation effort as well as the proposed changes outlined above.

Supporting Information