RFP for New gTLDs to be Published by ICANN

An initial draft version of the RFP for new gTLDs, an “Applicant Guidebook”, is due to be published by ICANN prior to their Cairo meeting in early November.The applicant guidebook will describe how an applicant applies for a new gTLD, the evaluation process, business and technical evaluation criteria, the TLD string criteria, the process for resolving formal objections to a string (in accordance with the four grounds enumerated in the policy recommendation) and a resolution of contention in case of collision between identical strings or strings so confusingly similar that user confusion results.Importantly, this draft RFP is for public comment. There has been much consultation to date. Now, at this stage, there will be a document to mark-up.According to ICANN’s Kurt Pritz, the RFP to be published will not be a final version, but rather the next step in collaboration for the launch of the new gTLDs.