31 March 2013
GAC draft gTLD agenda for Beijing
and advice to the ICANN Board on controversial or
sensitive strings and applications
As the New gTLD Program moves
forward, the GAC is making preparations for
delivering further advice on new gTLDs. This advice
constitutes a key element of the overall process as
outlined in the Applicant Guidebook (AG).
As anticipated, GAC Member Early
Warnings were issued on November 20, 2012, and
applicants and GAC Members have been exchanging
information with the aim of reaching an
understanding or agreement on concerns raised,
wherever possible.
In terms of the next phase,
described in module 3.1 of the AG, the GAC as a
whole will be discussing its advice on new
gTLDs. These sessions are organized into two parts:
Part I Safeguard advice on the
basis of categories of strings
The GAC discussions will proceed
on the basis of advice to safeguard categories of
strings that raise concerns, or potential concerns,
for governments. There are currently nine draft
categories of strings proposed for the GAC’s Beijing
agenda. Six were identified in the GAC Toronto
Communique:
Consumer protection
Strings that are linked to
regulated market sectors, such as the financial,
health and charity sectors
Competition issues
Strings that have broad or
multiple uses or meanings, and where one entity is
seeking exclusive use
Religious terms where the
applicant has no, or limited, support from the
relevant religious organisations or the religious
community.
Minimising the need for
defensive registrations
Protection of geographic names
Intellectual property rights
particularly in relation to strings aimed at the
distribution of music, video and other digital
material
Three additional categories have
now been proposed for consideration:
Support for applications
submitted by global authorities
Corporate Identifier gTLDs
Strings that represent
inherent government functions and/or activities
As the GAC looks at these nine
categories, and how they would apply to strings and
applications falling under these categories, the
number of safeguard categories or titles of the
categories could change.
Part II GAC advice/objections on
specific applications
Twenty specific applications have
been brought forward by a GAC Member or Members for
consideration by the GAC. The GAC Member(s) putting
forward these applications have linked them to the
following categories:
Community name where the
applicant does not have support from the community
or the government: 1
Consumer protection: 2
Name of an Intergovernmental
Organisation (IGO): 1
Protection of geographic names: 9
Religious terms: 2
Strings applied for that
represent inherent government functions and/or
activities: 3
Support for applications
submitted by global authorities: 2
The Operating Principles of the
GAC outline the consensus-based approach of the
Committee and will serve as a key reference for the
GAC in its deliberations.
The GAC looks forward to the
upcoming meetings and holding exchanges with the
ICANN Board and community on these and other
important matters.