Initial Evaluation

During today’s new gTLD applicant update webinar, ICANN made some important announcements regarding the timing of upcoming milestones in the new gTLD application evaluation process. Specifically, ICANN stated that Contention Sets would be announced on March 1. This is nearly two months after the most recent date ICANN had put forth for the publication of Contention Sets, which was mid-January. Other milestones seem to be proceeding on schedule, though: Clarifying Questions for non-geographic strings will be issued beginning this Tuesday, January 15, at a rate of 100 per week, in the order of application's Prioritization Draw numbers. The Trademark Clearinghouse will begin accepting trademark registrations in February, and the application evaluation panels are on track to release Initial Evaluation results beginning in late March, as planned.

For a refresher on how Clarifying Questions work, check out the latest video in our new gTLD series, featuring FairWinds Consulting Associate Jen Goldberg.

The last time we wrote about new gTLD application batching (or metering or sequencing) here on the gTLD Strategy blog was over a month ago, when we discussed some of the comments applicants had submitted to ICANN on the matter. Now, according to an announcement made in the early hours of the morning, ICANN is proposing a new plan for prioritizing applications through the steps leading up to launch. And much to everyone’s surprise, it involves a lottery – and a surprisingly old school lottery, at that. (more...)

ICANN announced today that the new gTLD Public Comment period has been extended until September 26, 2012. This means that members of the public have an additional 45 days to submit comments on new gTLD applications with ICANN’s assurance that those comments will reach new gTLD application evaluators.

So far, 5,636 comments have been submitted in the eight weeks since the Public Comment period opened on June 13, Reveal Day. Over half of the total number of comments were submitted in August alone, meaning that we could see a good deal of activity in the coming 45 days. (more...)

In an announcement published over the weekend, ICANN issued a request for community input on “requirements for an evaluation and delegation process” for new gTLDs. Essentially, questions raised during the Public Meeting in Prague about the order in which new gTLD applications would be handled – whether at the evaluation, release, or delegation phases – are still without answers, so now ICANN is once again turning to the community for advice. (more...)