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Objections and Appeals

هذا المحتوى متوفر فقط باللغة (أو اللغات): English

String Confusion Objections | Legal Rights Objections | Limited Public Interest Objections | Community Objections

The general public, including other applicants, has the opportunity to file an objection on any new gTLD application. For an objection to be considered by a panel, it must be filed on specific grounds (String Confusion, Legal Rights, Limited Public Interest, and Community) and the party filing must have standing.

If an application is subject to an objection, the applicant will have an opportunity to file a response. The New gTLD Program also includes mechanisms that allow for relevant parties to appeal an Objection Panel Determination.

For more information, see 4.5 Objections and Appeals of the Applicant Guidebook.

Applies toAll applied-for gTLDs and applied-for allocatable variant strings
Submitted byThe general public, including other applicants
Requirements

For an objection to be considered by a panel:

  • It must be filed on specific grounds (String Confusion, Legal Rights, Limited Public Interest, and Community), and
  • The filing party filing must have standing.

For more information, see Sections 4.5.1 Grounds for Objection and 4.5.2 Standing to Object of the Applicant Guidebook.

Objections Timeline

Objections may be filed only within the following time frames:

  • For 104 days, on all objection grounds, following String Confirmation Day.
  • For 30 days, on String Confusion grounds only, following the publication of updated contention sets once String Evaluation has been completed.
  • For 30 days, on all objections grounds, for .Brand String Change, starting on the day the String Evaluation Reports are published, and only if the string evaluation is successful.
Grounds for Objection

Objections can be filed on the following grounds:

  • String Confusion: A party with standing that believes that an applied-for primary string, its allocatable variant string(s), or its blocked variant string(s) are similar visually, aurally, or in meaning to an existing gTLD and/or another applied-for primary string and/or any of its allocatable or blocked variant strings may file a String Confusion Objection.
  • Legal Rights: A party with standing that believes an applied-for gTLD string and/or one or more applied-for allocatable variant strings infringes their existing legal rights may file a Legal Rights Objection. A Legal Rights Objection may not be filed against non-applied-for allocatable variant strings or blocked variant strings.
  • Limited Public Interest: A party with standing that believes that the applied-for gTLD string and/or one or more applied-for allocatable variant strings are contrary to generally accepted legal norms of morality and public order that are recognized under principles of international law may file a Limited Public Interest Objection. A Limited Public Interest Objection may not be filed against non-applied-for allocatable variant strings or blocked variant strings.
  • Community: A party with standing that believes there is well-substantiated opposition to an applied-for gTLD string and/or one or more applied-for allocatable variant strings from a significant portion of the community that the string may be explicitly or implicitly targeting may file a Community Objection. A Community Objection may not be filed against non-applied-for allocatable variant strings or blocked variant strings.

For more information, see Section 4.5.1 Grounds for Objection.

How to file an Objection

Submit objections directly to the appropriate Dispute Resolution Service Provider (DRSP) during the applicable objections filing window, electronically, in English, for each objection ground:

For detailed requirements, please refer to Section 4.5.8.2 – Filing an Objection.

Responses

After both parties have made an advance payment, the DRSPs will notify the respondent that it has 30 days to file a response to the objection after transmission of the Quick Look Review results.

For more information, see 4.5.8.9 Responding to an Objection.

AppealsThe non-successful party in an objection will have the opportunity to appeal a Panel Determination and such appeal would be considered under a clearly erroneous standard of review.
Appeals TimelineA party to an objection will have 15 days from the date the Panel Determination is issued by DRSP to notify the DRSP of its intent to appeal, and an additional 15 days to file such appeal.

How to file an Appeal

Appeals must be submitted electronically, in English, directly to the appropriate DRSP.

For detailed requirements, please refer to Section 4.5.9.1 – Filing an Appeal.

Administration

Objections and appeals are administered by the following DRSPs:

Funding

To support the multistakeholder model, ICANN offers certain funding possibilities to the At-Large Advisory Committee and national governments. For more information on funding requirements and processes go to:

Independent ObjectorsObjections also may be filed by one of the three Independent Objectors (IOs). The IOs do not act on behalf of any particular persons or entities, but solely in the best interests of the public who use the global Internet. More information is available on the Independent Objectors webpage.
Resources

Applicant Guidebook:

DRSPs:

Funding requirements and processes:

Other resources: