Category: 2026 New gTLD Program

As the 2026 round of the New gTLD Program approaches, rights protection mechanisms are once again at the forefront of policy and strategic planning for both applicants and intellectual property stakeholders. Among the tools available to address disputes over domain name registrations, the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) system and the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP)…

As the 2026 round of the ICANN New gTLD Program nears its highly anticipated launch dates, registry operators must ensure they are fully operationally prepared to meet the complex demands of entering the root zone and supporting live domain registrations. Unlike application and evaluation phases, where success is measured through documentation, scoring, and compliance milestones,…

As the 2026 round of the New gTLD Program approaches, prospective registry operators face a foundational decision that will influence every aspect of their operations, branding, governance, and market trajectory: whether to adopt an open or restricted registration model. This choice is not merely a matter of policy preference—it is a strategic determination that shapes…

As the 2026 ICANN New gTLD Program approaches general availability for a new wave of top-level domains, registry operators are increasingly turning to social media platforms as a core channel for awareness and adoption campaigns. Unlike traditional marketing channels, social media offers a dynamic, data-rich environment where registries can not only broadcast messaging but also…

As the domain name industry prepares for the 2026 round of the ICANN New gTLD Program, registry operators face a rapidly evolving technical landscape that demands scalability, resilience, and cost-efficiency. One of the most transformative shifts in this context is the adoption of cloud-native infrastructure for operating registry systems. Moving beyond traditional hosting environments, cloud-native…

The 2026 round of the ICANN New gTLD Program brings with it renewed opportunities for expanding linguistic and cultural diversity on the internet, especially through Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). These domain names, which incorporate non-Latin scripts such as Arabic, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Chinese, and others, serve as vital digital infrastructure for regions and communities that use…

In the competitive and complex environment of the 2026 New gTLD Program, success for a new registry hinges not only on a compelling top-level domain but also on robust and productive relationships with ICANN-accredited registrars. Registrars serve as the critical intermediaries between registry operators and the end-users who purchase and use domain names. Without their…

The 2026 round of the ICANN New gTLD Program reintroduces a powerful tool for digital inclusion through Internationalized Domain Names, enabling the representation of top-level domains in scripts other than Latin. For applicants pursuing multilingual IDN gTLDs—particularly those targeting global or multicultural communities—the opportunity to operate multiple variant strings in different scripts under a unified…

As the 2026 round of the ICANN New gTLD Program approaches, the global domain name ecosystem faces heightened expectations for data protection, jurisdictional compliance, and operational transparency. Among the critical components emerging to address these challenges is the formalization and increasing reliance on data trustees within registry operations. Data trustees—entities or individuals legally designated to…

The 2026 New gTLD Program arrives at a moment of profound regulatory transformation in the digital services landscape, particularly in the European Union. One of the most consequential developments affecting registry operators is the European Union’s AI Act, which has emerged as the first comprehensive legal framework governing the development, deployment, and oversight of artificial…