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.