Dear all, Ahead of your meetings at ICANN79, I am writing to follow up on an action item for ICANN org from the ICANN78 Annual General Meeting. This was for ICANN org to share a preliminary timeline for all the current work streams relating to IGO protections, including preparatory work towards the release of the temporarily-reserved IGO acronyms. The IGO Program team had originally thought we could include this update during the GNSO Council’s session with the Global Domains & Strategy (GDS) team at the GNSO Working Session on Sunday 3 March. However, given the number of topics to be covered in that session, which we also understand will be focused on current GDS policy implementation projects, we thought it might be more appropriate to provide an email update. To recap, ICANN org’s ongoing work streams relating to IGO second-level protections are: 1. implementing the Board-adopted recommendations from the two completed GNSO policy efforts * These are the four GNSO Council-approved recommendations from the 2019 PDP on IGO-INGO Access to Curative Rights Protection Mechanisms and the five recommendations from the 2022 EPDP on Specific Curative Rights Protections for IGOs. 2. work directed towards releasing the currently-reserved acronyms of those IGOs on the list that the GAC submitted to ICANN in 2013 * This includes the development of a permanent system to notify IGOs on the GAC’s list when a third party registers a second-level domain name that matches that IGO’s acronym as well as work to ensure that the IGO contact list for this purpose is updated and accurate. Our GDS colleagues will cover item (1) as part of their implementation updates at the GNSO Working Session this Sunday. On item (2), the IGO Program team continues to support the Board in its discussion and review of the GAC’s advice in the ICANN76 Cancun Communique<https://gac.icann.org/advice/communiques/icann76-cancun-communique-es.pdf> (March 2023) to “maintain the current moratorium on the registration of IGO acronyms as domain names in New gTLDs presently in place until the full implementation of the recommendations of the EPDP on Specific Curative Rights Protections.” This advice follows from the GAC’s ICANN71 Communique<https://gac.icann.org/contentMigrated/icann71-gac-communique> as well as subsequent correspondence<https://gac.icann.org/contentMigrated/gac-response-to-board-clarifying-questions-on-icann71-communique-igo-protections> where the GAC clarified its intention that the IGO acronyms should remain reserved until implementation of the Curative Rights policy recommendations is completed. At this time, we are therefore not in a position to provide an estimated timeline for when the IGO acronyms can be released from reservation. We do, however, wish to let you know that ICANN org’s work on the proposed<https://www.icann.org/en/board-activities-and-meetings/materials/approved-resolutions-regular-meeting-of-the-icann-board-22-10-2020-en#2.b> IGO notification system continues. and we are also working to ensure that the IGO contact list is updated and accurate, as this will be necessary to ensure effective operationalization of the planned notification system when it is launched. The team is confident that we will complete these work streams in a timely manner, such that they will not delay any expected action by the Board to release the IGO acronyms from the reserved list. In this regard, we note that ICANN org has stated<https://newgtlds.icann.org/sites/default/files/new-gtld-next-round-implementation-plan-31jul23-en.pdf> publicly that developing the notification system is a strategic dependency for delegating the first new gTLDs in the next round. We understand that members of the community wish to understand more clearly the dependencies and considerations around the scope and timelines of all these work streams. The IGO Program team will be happy to meet with the GNSO Council and community to discuss the matter further, at your convenience. Thank you. Best regards, Mary