On the heels of the “What’s at Stake: The Reality of ICANN’s New gTLD Program for Brands” conference, CADNA has submitted a proposal to ICANN asking the organization to make the New gTLD Program less detrimental to brands. Specifically, the proposal consisted of the following request:

“We ask that the ICANN Board request an Issues Report to formally initiate a policy development process to determine when the next round of new gTLD applications will occur, thereby affirming its commitment to opening a second round in a timely manner.”

We believe that disclosing when it will open a second round will increase the level of transparency around the controversial new gTLD policy, but more importantly, will go a long way in relieving the anxiety many brands feel around the New gTLD Program. Right now, many brands feel forced into applying in order to remain competitive, especially considering that it is widely known that other applicants have little to gain from openly sharing their plans to apply or not. This has created a sense of chaos around the first application round.

We’re looking forward to hearing ICANN’s response to the proposal, and hopefully working with ICANN in the future to improve the New gTLD Program.