"The application process" [2019] ELECD 580; in Mahler, Tobias (ed), "Generic Top-Level Domains" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019) 167

Book Title: Generic Top-Level Domains

Editor(s): Mahler, Tobias

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section: Chapter 9

Section Title: The application process

Number of pages: 11

Abstract/Description:

Chapter 9 addresses the procedural mechanisms for allocating gTLD rights to applicants. It explains the procedural and substantive rules governing the gTLD application process. This was one of the innovations of ICANN’s 2012 gTLD programme. It was used to decide which applicants would receive a contract for a gTLD, and thus, a gTLD right. Applicants had to pay a substantial application fee and submit a detailed application. The assessment was carried out by external experts, applying the criteria stated in the AGB. Applications that complied with ICANN’s requirements passed on to the next phase, where disputes among applicants, and with third parties, were resolved. Subsequently, competing applications had to be resolved, either based on preferential rules for certain application categories or through an auction. If the application process was successful, it concluded with the applicant being awarded a Registry Agreement.