|
|
 |
| |
| What's New? |
 |
ICANN Publishes Updated RFP Draft, Applicants Study Fee Structures |
| Posted on
2009-02-24 |
| |
Almost four months after ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) released the first draft of RFP (Request for Proposal), also known as the Applicant Guidebook, for the new round of gTLD (generic Top Level Domain) applications, the public can now review an updated RFP, which was based on the public comments received late 2008.
Describing the quality of public comment that led to the release of an updated RFP, Dr Paul Twomey, ICANN President and Chief Executive Officer said, ˇ°The amount of feedback and its quality is really pleasing. We've listened carefully to what was said and that has produced many changes in this version of the Guidebook. It's also clear that further discussion on some key areas is needed and we will start work on those immediately."
There is no change in the amount of Evaluation Fee that is required of each gTLD applicant; it is still set at $185,000, but there are clearer refund mechanisms in case the applicant withdraws or fails in the earlier part of the evaluation. Meanwhile, the annual registry fee for the approved registry dropped from $75,000 as previously published, to only $25,000 in the updated RFP. However, this $25,000 annual fee applies only to new registries that have registered less than 50,000 names. For those with more than 50,000 registrations, they will pay $25,000 and an additional $0.25 for each transaction.
On top of the evaluation fee and the annual registry fee, some other fees may rise depending on the circumstances surrounding the application. If an applicant would need an extended review based on its documents and initial evaluation, the applicant would need to pay ˇ°Registry Services Review Fee,ˇ± which is estimated by industry players to be at least $50,000.
If anyone wants to object to a certain gTLD application, ICANN estimates that non-refundable objection filing fees could be around $1,000 to $5,000. After that, there will be an additional ˇ°Dispute Resolution Adjudication Fee,ˇ± which will be paid by both parties in advance. Whoever loses the dispute resolution will pay for the entire procedure, and the winning party can refund their advanced payment. (Therefore, only the objection filing fee is non-refundable in this case.) Adjudication Fees can be around $2,000 to $8,000 (or greater) for each proceeding.
In the event that two or more applicants would vie for the same gTLD string, there will be an auction as a last resort to determine the rightful registry of the name. ICANN will require a financial deposit from the applicants that will participate in the auction. The bid should not exceed the financial deposit, so if an applicant is willing to bid up to $1M for a gTLD string, then this amount should be deposited to ICANN.
Applicants who would like to operate a gTLD are now studying the fee structures in the updated draft of RFP to get a better understanding of how the process will be once the application round opens around the third or fourth quarter of the year. Setting up an approved registry could take up several months so new gTLDs like .paris, .nyc, .shopping, etc. would be used some time in 2010. To give way to as many new gTLDs as possible, ICANN hopes to open a new round of gTLD applications soon after the first round of applications is over. (Netpia.Com)
-end- |
| |
|
|
