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<h2><font size=4>Total now about $235,000,000!<br>
Alan<br><br>
</font><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><b>News
Alert</b></h2><br><br>
<a href="https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2-2016-07-28-en">
https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2-2016-07-28-en</a><br>
<hr>
<br>
<h2><b>Results Available for 27 July 2016 New gTLD Program
Auction</b></h2><br><br>
28 July 2016<br><br>
On 27 July 2016, <a href="http://www.powerauctions.com/">Power Auctions
LLC</a>, ICANN's authorized auction service provider, conducted a New
Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Program auction to resolve contention for
<a href="https://gtldresult.icann.org/application-result/applicationstatus/contentionsetdiagram/233">
.WEB and .WEBS</a>. Auction serves as the method of last resort for
determining which applicant may operate a gTLD when several entities have
applied for the same or confusingly similar gTLDs. This method was
defined through ICANN's bottom-up, multistakeholder process.<br><br>
Eight applicants completed the requirements for participating in the
.WEB/.WEBS auction. NU DOT CO LLC prevailed in the auction for the price
of $135 million to operate the .WEB gTLD, and Vistaprint Ltd prevailed
with a price of $1 for the .WEBS gTLD.<br>
<br>
<h3><b>Auction Proceeds</b></h3><br><br>
The proceeds from New gTLD Program auctions, which will total more than
$230 million, are being reserved. The multistakeholder community will
develop proposals for how these proceeds could be distributed. A
community-based drafting team is currently working on a charter for a
Cross-Community Working Group that will create recommendations for Board
consideration.
<a href="https://community.icann.org/display/NGAPDT/New+gTLD+Auction+Proceeds+Drafting+Team+Home">
Learn more</a> about this work.<br><br>
"New gTLD Program auctions are the community-established, last
resort method to help determine which applicant will have the opportunity
to operate a particular new generic top-level domain, when multiple
entities vied for the same or confusingly similar domains." said
Akram Atallah, president of ICANN's Global Domains Division. "We
look forward to seeing the community's recommendations for the use of
these proceeds."<br><br>
<h3><b>Auctions and the New gTLD Applicant Guidebook</b></h3><br>
<br>
The Internet community spent nearly three years developing a playbook for
rolling out new gTLDs under the New gTLD Program, known as the New gTLD
Applicant Guidebook. The guidebook outlines measures for addressing a
variety of circumstances that could occur throughout the gTLD application
and evaluation processes, including instances where multiple applicants
applied for the same or confusingly similar new gTLDs. Only one entity
can operate a given new gTLD, so contention must be resolved. Applicants
can resolve contention among themselves, and ICANN encourages them to do
so. However, this isn't always possible. The ICANN stakeholder community
helped develop methods for resolving contention, and it decided that
auction should serve as the method of last resort. ICANN is responsible
for implementing auctions in accordance with the rules defined in the New
gTLD Applicant Guidebook.<br><br>
There are two different types of contention sets: direct and indirect.
Direct contention occurs when multiple applicants are vying for the same
or confusingly similar gTLDs. Indirect contention exists when two or more
applications are in direct contention with a third application, but not
with one another. .WEB/.WEBS was an indirect contention set consisting of
one application for .WEBS and seven applications for .WEB. In this case,
the application for .WEBS prevailed along with one application for .WEB.
For a more detailed description of auction and indirect contention, see
Module 4 of <a href="http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/agb">New
gTLD Program Applicant Guidebook</a>.<br><br>
<h3><b>More Information</b></h3><br><br>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://gtldresult.icann.org/application-result/applicationstatus/stringcontentionstatus">
Contention Set Status</a>: 218 of 234 contention sets are now resolved.
The majority have self-resolved, but 16 sets resolved via ICANN auction.
<li>
<a href="https://gtldresult.icann.org/application-result/applicationstatus/auctionresults">
Auction Results</a>: Reports on this page of the New gTLD Microsite
provide additional information on each auction outcome.
<li><a href="http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/auctions/proceeds">
Auction Proceeds and Costs</a>: A detailed summary of the proceeds and
costs of each auction through July 2016. This information will be updated
within seven days of each auction.
<li>
<a href="https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/auctions/schedule-28jul16-en.pdf">
Auction Schedule</a> [PDF, 263 KB]: Updated as of 28 July 2016.
<li>General
<a href="http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/auctions">New gTLD
Program Auctions</a> information.
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