Thank you for the additional background. Call me crazy but reading all the relevant policy together, it appears to me that a string that is too similar to one of the protected IGO/NGO strings cannot be delegated at all and that the protected strings have priority regardless of the time (or round) of application. In other words, applicants who do not officially represent these organizations will be able to see the relevant strings in advance and should not make a choice to apply for a string that would result in a string similarity review with one of these strings that is ineligible for delegation EXCEPT to an official organization named by the string. So string similarity review would have to occur, but only in the sense of rejecting a string that is too similar to one of these names. Does that already occur where an applied-for name comes too close to a reserved name? In other words, what happens to the new applicant for (dot)oniony? (Surely we are not saying it is never compared to .onion, which cannot be delegated.) Apologies as I will not be able to make today's meeting, but will catch up with the Zoom later. Thank you, Anne Anne Aikman-Scalese GNSO Councilor NomCom Non-Voting 2022-2026 anneicanngnso@gmail.com On Wed, Sep 10, 2025 at 4:13 PM Next Round Policy Implementation via SubPro-IRT <subpro-irt@icann.org> wrote:
Hello all,
Thank you for your questions and comments regarding the String Similarity Assessment of Reserved Names presented during the last IRT call on 4 September. Based on your comments on-list, we have updated the paper to include the relevant Board-adopted recommendations from the PDP Protection of IGO and INGO Identifiers in All gTLDs in the Annex.
You can find the updated paper on the wiki page here: https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/SPIR/pages/460783617/2025-.... The original paper is labeled “Version 1 (5 Sept), and the updated paper is labeled “Version 2 (10 Sept).
Looking forward to the discussion tomorrow.
Thank you!
Best,
Michael
*From: *"Pruis, Elaine via SubPro-IRT" <subpro-irt@icann.org> *Reply-To: *"Pruis, Elaine" <epruis@verisign.com> *Date: *Wednesday, September 10, 2025 at 8:04 AM *To: *"ashley.roberts@comlaude.com" <ashley.roberts@comlaude.com>, Elisa Busetto <elisa.busetto@icann.org>, "subpro-irt@icann.org" < subpro-irt@icann.org> *Subject: *[SubPro-IRT] Re: String Similarity Assessment of Reserved Names
Hello
ICANN’s “Option 2: Reserved Names are protected based on who can apply for them, and also protected against other applied-for strings which are found confusingly similar during String Similarity Evaluation” would make more sense e IF the string similarity check *was limited to the string on the Reserved list and applications for VARIANTS of that string*, as ICANN provided this example in their paper:
re̱dcross vs. redcross
But there is no discussion in the proposal about limiting the string similarity check to variants of the reserved TLDs-
So rodcross or redcress or redcrocs would be evaluated under Option 2 and most likely not proceed to delegation even if the party the string was reserved for does not apply (…“any similar string to Reserved Name cannot proceed and so cannot be delegated at any time”.)
I agree with Ashely that is not the intention of the policy and we are not to create new policy.
Therefore,
“Option 1: Reserved Names are only protected based on who can apply for them, but go through String Similarity Evaluation like any other applied-for string if it is applied-for. a. Only entities for which Reserved Names are reserved for can apply for them, based on the process noted in AGB. b. Reserved Names will not be given any protection against similar strings”.
Is the best way forward
Elaine
*From: *Ashley Roberts via SubPro-IRT <subpro-irt@icann.org> *Reply-To: *Ashley Roberts <ashley.roberts@comlaude.com> *Date: *Monday, September 8, 2025 at 9:59 AM *To: *Elisa Busetto <elisa.busetto@icann.org>, "subpro-irt@icann.org" < subpro-irt@icann.org> *Subject: *[EXTERNAL] [SubPro-IRT] Re: String Similarity Assessment of Reserved Names
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Hi Elisa and Sarmad,
Thanks for summarising the issue and offering two potential solutions. However, I disagree with ICANN’s conclusion that we should adopt option 2, as that would be creating new policy.
Option 2 proposes to:
- In the case of contention between an IGO/RC/IOC applicant and a non-IGO/RC/IOC applicant, give priority to the IGO/RC/IOC applicant. This would create an entirely new method of priority for resolving contention. - Include the Reserved Names list strings in the standard string similarity review performed by the ICANN evaluators. This is a reversal of the policy from the 2012 round, when Strings Ineligible for Delegation (as Reserved Names were known at the time) were explicitly excluded from the string similarity review.
The paper asserts that “…based on remaining recommendations in SubPro and IDN EPDP Phase 1, ICANN proposes to move forward with option 2…”. However, I don’t believe there are any policy recommendations in either SubPro or the IDN EPDP Phase 1 which allow for either of the above rules. The original policy from the 2012 round AGB states in section 2.2.1.2.3 that: “the following [strings ineligible for delegation] names are prohibited from delegation as gTLDs in the initial application round. Future application rounds may differ according to consideration of further policy advice. These names are not being placed on the Top-Level Reserved Names List, and *thus are not part of the string similarity review conducted for names on that list*.” The SubPro final report affirmed the continuation of the 2012 rules on this topic in Affirmation 24.2: “…the Working Group affirms the standard used in the String Similarity Review from the 2012 round to determine whether an applied-for string is “similar” to any existing TLD, any other applied-for strings, Reserved Names, and in the case of 2-character IDNs, any single character or any 2-character ASCII string.” Note it does not list “strings ineligible for delegation” (i.e. the IGO/RC/IOC names) as a type of string subject to string similarity review.
Similarly, section 4.4.1 of the IDN EPDP phase 1 report is clear on the types of name which are subject to string similarity review and “strings ineligible for delegation” are not among them: “If an applied-for primary gTLD string or any of its variant label(s) is confusingly similar to an existing gTLD, an existing ccTLD, a New gTLD Program Reserved Name*, a two-character ASCII string, or any of the variant label(s) of the aforementioned categories of strings, the entire variant label set of the applied-for primary gTLD string will be ineligible to proceed in the application process.”
Thus, implementing the two above rules proposed by option 2 would be creating new policy, which is not the job of the IRT. Whereas option 2 would create new policy, the path outlined in option 1 is consistent with existing policy. Therefore, option 1 is the only viable option outlined in your paper.
Please note that both the SubPro and EPDP final reports use the old definition of “Reserved Names”, which is a little confusing. In those reports, the relevant term to describe the IOC/RC/IOC names is “strings ineligible for delegation”. For clarity and completeness you may want to make this clear in the annex of your paper.
* Definitions of New gTLD Program Reserved Names and Strings Ineligible for Delegation, used by the IDN EPDP per their Final Report:
- *New gTLD Program Reserved Name: A string that is reserved to maintain the exclusive rights to the names of ICANN, its bodies, or essential related functions of ICANN and IANA. For a full list of New gTLD Program Reserved Names, see Section 2.2.1.2.1 of the 2012 Applicant Guidebook. In addition, the SubPro PDP recommended adding “PTI” to the New gTLD Program Reserved Names list.* - *String Ineligible for Delegation:* *A string that is ineligible for delegation in order to provide special protections at the top**-**level and second-level for the names and acronyms of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) which receive protections under treaties and statutes across multiple jurisdictions. Those organizations specifically include the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement (RCRC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). *
I hope that makes sense. Please shout if anything in my explanation is unclear.
Kind regards,
Ashley
Ashley Roberts Head of New TLD Consultancy Com Laude *T* +44 (0) 20 7421 8250 *Ext* 264
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*From:* Elisa Busetto via SubPro-IRT <subpro-irt@icann.org> *Sent:* 05 September 2025 12:10 *To:* subpro-irt@icann.org *Subject:* [SubPro-IRT] String Similarity Assessment of Reserved Names
Hello IRT,
We have just published a paper concerning the String Similarity Assessment of Reserved Names on the wiki page of meeting #158a: https://icann-community.atlassian.net/wiki/x/AQB3Gw <https://secure-web.cisco.com/19p0LT0iwpzzYckVQeX0vaIIYWWoQf_NsfxaSjXc-wqWLyD...>
Sarmad will go through it during the call, but it would be appreciated if you could already review it and provide any input you may have on list.
Many thanks,
Elisa ------------------------------
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