Dear EPDP Team,

On behalf of the leadership team, staff are sending a list of questions in advance to facilitate the continued deliberation of charter question A3 in the upcoming meeting. We also attached an updated diagram to illustrate the possible procedural application of RZ-LGR in the new gTLD application process and how a challenge process may look like.

Questions for Discussion

Question 1: [Assuming that the applied-for label has passed the mandatory string requirements and IDNA 2008 requirements] Should the applicant be allowed to submit an application for a gTLD label, knowing the label is invalid according to the RZ-LGR?

Question 2: Does the DNS Stability Panel have a role in assessing whether the RZ-LGR has been  applied correctly?

Question 3: Is a change request made to the Generation Panel to update the RZ-LGR outside the challenge process for the new gTLD program? Change request to update the RZ-LGR can be made at any time, not limited to the application period.

Question 4: [Assuming that the application system has correctly incorporated the algorithmic check] Upon receiving rejection from the DNS Stability Panel, should the applicant be allowed to amend the applied-for label in order to conform with the application system? 

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Notes about the Diagram

• Slide 4 was initially presented at ICANN72 EPDP Team session (see the Zoom recording here).
• Changes were made to slide 4 in this updated version: 1) each square is now numbered to make it easier for referencing; 2) the original rightmost square “DNS Stability Panel refers challenge to Generation Panel” is removed, as additional steps are built out in the new slide 5.
• The new slide 5 demonstrates the potential challenge process, which may deal with technical mistake of the RZ-LGR implementation but not the RZ-LGR rule itself. The process flow will be presented during the upcoming call.

Best Regards,

Steve, Emily, Ariel