New gTLDs

UPDATE: REGISTRY AGREEMENT APPROVED

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July 3, 2013

By jbourne

Buzz regarding the latest development in ICANN’s new gTLD Program interrupted the pre-holiday hush of more than one corporate office this morning: the ICANN Board has given ICANN President Fadi Chehadé the authority to proceed with the New gTLD Program based upon the approved version of the Registry Agreement (RA), which can be found here.

FairWinds expects a lively debate about the new RA at meetings ICANN has scheduled at its conference in Durban, South Africa July 14-18. Stakeholders – except applicants for open .GENERIC gTLDs, who got a green light from the ICANN Board – are eager to learn more about ICANN’s decisions, voice their remaining concerns, and advocate for solutions.

Fortunately, ICANN is aware of the impact the RA will have on its stakeholders and has scheduled meetings in Durban with .BRANDs to discuss provisions they want and need to operate closed gTLDs. ICANN also has scheduled meetings in Durban with the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) to  discuss the delegation of sensitive strings and strings linked to regulated markets.

As FairWinds CEO Nao Matsukata explained: “This is a significant step toward delegation but significant problems still remain. The important point is that ICANN hasn’t rejected any strings, and discussions are ongoing about closed generic-term gTLDs. Clearly ICANN is committed to finding a way to get those strings delegated.”

For more information regarding how brands are impacted by the new gTLD program, please contact us. To stay informed about developments in the new gTLD program that could impact your company and consumers like you, please visit our blogs and follow us on Twitter @fairwinds.

 

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About jbourne