Update from Durban: First New gTLD applicants sign registry agreements

Domains

During ceremonies earlier today marking the start of ICANN’s 47th meeting in Durban, South Africa, the organization announced that the first New gTLD registry applicants have passed the initial program evaluation and signed their respective registry agreements.

Next, these successful applicants will conduct Pre-delegation Testing (estimated to take 1 to 3 weeks), after which they can begin preparing for launch by posting a 30-day advance notice of the Sunrise period, a requirement for all program applicants.

The first New gTLDs are slated to go live this fall.

The strings and signees announced today were as follows:

  • ARI CEO Adrian Kinderis signed on behalf of .شبكة, Arabic for “.web,” which transliterates as “.shabaka”. The applicant is the International Domain Registry. The string is #3 in ICANN’s Priority Draw Order. There are no objections to this New gTLD and it is not in the contention set with the ASCII versions of .web.
  • Donuts CEO Paul Stahura signed for .游戏, the Chinese-language “.games”, which had prioritization #40. There are no objections to this New gTLD and it is not in the contention set with the ASCII versions of .games.
  • Iliya Bazlyankov, chair of CORE’s executive committee, also signed a registry agreement. CORE has applied for three internationalized domain name New gTLDs with high priority numbers. The two agreements signed were for .онлайн, Russian for “online” (prioritization #6) as well as .сайт, which is Russian for “game” (prioritization #9).

With Sunrise periods right around the corner, it is critical for brand owners to have a strategy in place for the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH), as this is just the “tip of the iceberg” as far as progress with the program goes. Keep in mind that TMCH filings may take as long as 20-30 days for validation, so it is inadvisable to wait until the last minute.

The Brand Bulletin - TMCHThis information was prepared by CSC Digital Brand Services, an official agent of the Trademark Clearinghouse. For more information about the benefits of choosing an agent or conducting your own registrations, please review our TMCH infographic. 

You can find additional resources on the TMCH in the latest edition of our newsletter, The Brand Bulletin, as well as in “The Truth About the Trademark Clearinghouse,” a CSC Digital Brand Services webinar recording.