John Demco
Private Auctions for gTLD Applications Commence – The first private auction has taken place to resolve contention among multiple applicants for six gTLDs: .club, .college, .luxury, .photography, .red, and .vote. Also Antony van Couvering, CEO of Minds + Machines, has written an article on why he prefers a private auction to one run by ICANN.
ICANN Board Responds to GAC Advice on New gTLDs – The ICANN Board, through its New gTLD Program Committee (NGPC), has been working its way through the formal advice submitted by the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) in April. On June 4, it accepted a number of items including rejection of a number of gTLD applications, and agreeing to reconsider an earlier decision to allow single and plural versions of a string as a TLD name.
Picks To Click
- During an applicant update webinar (see slides [PDF]) held on June 5, ICANN provided information on such items as progress on initial evaluation of gTLD applications, pre-delegation testing, and Trademark Clearinghouse activity.
Timeline
- Mon, Jul 1: .org, .net registry fees increase
- Sun, Jul 14 – Thu, Jul 18: ICANN meetings in Durban, South Africa.
- Mon, Jul 29 – Mon, Aug 12: call for Member Nominees for CIRA Board election
- Wed, Aug 21 – Wed, Sep 4: shows of support for Member Nominees for CIRA election
- Sun, Sep 1: .biz, .info registry fees increase
- Mon, Sep 9 – Mon, Sep 16: online forum for CIRA Board of Directors election
- Mon, Sep 16: CIRA Annual General Meeting in Montreal
- Mon, Sep 16 – Mon, Sep 23: CIRA Board of Directors election