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First 27 new gTLDs pass evaluation

Kevin Murphy, March 22, 2013, 18:44:34 (UTC), Domain Registries

ICANN has started reporting the results of Initial Evaluation in its new gTLD program as promised, delivering a passing grade to 27 applications today.
So far, no bids appear to have explicitly flunked IE, judging by ICANN’s web site.
However, some of the applications in the top 27 in the prioritization queue are still flagged as being in IE — the Japanese Chinese-script dot-brand .淡马锡 and Samsung’s .삼성.
ICANN said:

For some applications Initial Evaluation results were not yet available for one or more possible reasons such as: pending change requests, clarifying questions, or follow-up with applicants regarding missing information. The results for these applications will be published as soon as the relevant processes are completed.

Due to the way the queue was rigged, all 27 passes are for internationalized domain names, such as Verisign’s .net transliteration .大拿 and Amazon’s Japanese .fashion (.ファッション).
Those that have passed IE and have no objections and no contention can now pass in to predelegation testing and contract negotiations with ICANN.
All IE results are expected to be released by August.

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Comments (6)

  1. Rubens Kuhl says:

    Contract Acceptance, not Negotiations… unICANNlateral.

  2. Tokyo Rose says:

    淡马锡 is not a Japanese word.

  3. Kevin,
    Although the patient has been given a rosy prognosis, the disease will not be so quickly eradicated as you suggest. A long and difficult convalescence is now required before ICANN Bureaucracy Syndrome (IBS) can safely be declared to be a chronic but manageable affliction for new gTLDs.
    Applications do not now pass to contract negotiation and pre-delegation testing. First, the ICANN staff needs to recommend to the ICANN Board that the application be approved for contract, pre-delegation testing, and eventually delegation.
    While the staff and Board recommendations are presumed to be automatic, these steps take time. For instance, today’s batch (one assumes) are among those that Fadi Chehade promised to recommend to the ICANN on April 23, which would then be approved by the Board in their mid-May meeting. So that’s almost 2 months from passing initial evaluation to actually passing to the contract stage.
    And that’s not counting any complications from GAC, contracting, pre-delegation, and eventual delegation. The treatment for IBS is not easy or quick.
    Antony

  4. toyotabedzrock says:

    Is it just me or is this going to cause Internet segregation?
    How will I as an English speaker ever going to find let alone type one of these foreign addresses into my browser?

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