GAC Advice: Category 2 Safeguards and Applicant Responses

Understanding GAC Category 2 Advice
Additional Resources
Application Status Overview
Applicant Responses
Archive

Understanding GAC Category 2 Safeguard Advice

In its Beijing Communiqué, the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) issued advice to the ICANN Board of Directors regarding "safeguards" for New gTLDs. In the Category 2 Safeguard Advice, section 2 (GAC Category 2.2 Safeguard Advice), the GAC advised that, "For strings representing generic terms, exclusive registry access should serve a public interest goal." The GAC Beijing Communiqué also included a list of strings that the GAC considered to be generic, where the applicant was, at the time, proposing to provide exclusive registry access.

A "Generic String" means a string consisting of a word or term that denominates or describes a general class of goods, services, groups, organizations or things, as opposed to distinguishing a specific brand of goods, services, groups, organizations or things from those of others (as defined in Specification 11, 3(d) of the Registry Agreement). Under Section 3(d) of Specification 11, a Registry Operator of a "Generic String" TLD may not impose eligibility criteria for registering names in the TLD that limit registrations exclusively to a single person or entity and/or that person's or entity's "Affiliates" (as defined in Section 2.9(c) of the Registry Agreement).

On 19 August 2013, ICANN solicited responses from applicants of the 186 applications representing the strings identified in Category 2 of the Beijing Communiqué regarding whether they planned to operate the applied-for TLDs as exclusive access registries. View applicant responses to GAC Category 2 Advice below.

On 21 June 2015, the NGPC adopted a resolution to address GAC's Category 2.2 Safeguard Advice and created a path forward for the remaining applicants in this round of the New gTLD Program who propose to provide exclusive registry access for a generic string ("Exclusive Generic Applicants"). The NGPC directed ICANN to proceed with initiating other New gTLD Program processes for Exclusive Generic Applicants, and Exclusive Generic Applicants for non-contended strings or prevailing in contention resolution must elect to either:

• submit a change request to no longer be an exclusive generic TLD, and sign the current form of the Registry Agreement;
• maintain their plan to operate an exclusive generic TLD. As a result, their application will be deferred to the next round of the New gTLD Program; or
• withdraw their application.

Additional Resources

• Applicant Advisory: GAC Category 2 Implementation
• Read GAC Category 2 Advice [PDF, 156 KB] (Annex 1 of the Beijing Communiqué)
• Read the 9 October 2013 Announcement
• Learn more about GAC Advice [PDF, 261 KB] (Module 3 of the Applicant Guidebook)

Application Status Overview

Updated 3 April 2019

Total Applications Subject to GAC Category 2 Advice: 186
Cleared to Proceed: 185
Change Requests Required: 1

Applicant Responses

Responses published 9 October 2013 unless otherwise noted

Download All Original Responses [PDF, 5.52 MB]

¹ Published 25 October 2013

² Published 30 October 2013

³ Published 18 February 2014

Archive

Additional Responses from Applicants That Have Expressed Intent to Operate Exclusive Access Registries (Published 28 January 2014)

ICANN solicited responses from applicants that indicated that they intend to operate the proposed TLD as an exclusive access registry in their response to GAC Category 2 Advice. Applicants were requested to explain how exclusive access registry for the applied-for TLD would serve a public interest goal. Responses submitted to ICANN by 17 January 2014 will be provided to the New gTLD Program Committee of the ICANN Board (NGPC) for its consideration. Additionally, ICANN plans on inviting the public to comment on these responses in the coming weeks.

Applications with Expressed Intent to Operate As an Exclusive Access TLD:

• BROKER (1-1332-82635) [PDF, 66 KB]
• CRUISE (1-1691-43949) [PDF, 56 KB]
• DATA (1-2009-38008) [PDF, 754 KB]
• DVR (1-2000-89466) [PDF, 472 KB]
• FOOD (1-1326-50608) [PDF, 1.21 MB]
• GROCERY (1-2064-74519) [PDF, 333 KB]
• MOBILE (1-2012-89566) [PDF, 754 KB]
• PHONE (1-2011-80942) [PDF, 754 KB]
• THEATER (1-1326-97308) [PDF, 76 KB]
• THEATRE (1-1326-3558) [PDF, 87 KB]
• TIRES (1-1884-1217) [PDF, 62 KB]
• TIRES (1-2123-56973) [PDF, 1.41 MB]

Download All Responses [PDF, 5.81 MB]

Additional Responses (25 October 2013)

The responses that were provided to ICANN before the 28 September 2013 meeting of New gTLD Program Committee of the ICANN Board (NGPC) were provided to the NGPC for its consideration. For more information, view the announcement.

In cases where responses are submitted or modified after the initial publication of the responses, ICANN will update the table below to reflect any changes. Footnotes provide information on additional response publish dates.

Applicant Responses to GAC Category 2 Advice (9 October 2013)

ICANN solicited responses from applicants for the strings identified by the GAC regarding whether they planned to operate the applied-for TLDs as exclusive access registries (defined as a registry restricted to a single person or entity and/or that person's or entity's Affiliates" (as defined in Section 2.9c of the Registry Agreement)). The responses were submitted to the New gTLD Program Committee (NGPC) of the ICANN Board. On 28 September 2013, the NGPC adopted a Resolution on GAC Category 2 Advice allowing applicants that do not plan to operate as exclusive access registries, and that are prepared to enter the Registry Agreement as approved, to move forward to Contracting.