Now that ICANN has released the list of applications for its 2026 New gTLD Program, what should trademark owners do?
Fourteen years ago, I published a list of the “10 Things Trademark Owners Should Do on ICANN's Domain Name 'Reveal Day',” when ICANN unveiled applications for its first round of domain-name expansion. Remarkably, very little has changed since that time! In fact, I think most of my advice then still applies today.
While I encourage trademark owners and others to review my 2012 blog post, I’ll focus on just three things that I recommend now:
Review the Applications
First, review the list of new gTLD applications. The list includes 1,615 applications for 1,107 unique strings from 481 applicants, with applied-for strings starting with every letter of the alphabet (plus 30 internationalized domain names in non-Latin scripts), from .abion to .zzz.
Many of the strings contain well-known trademarks and are “dot-brand” applications from trademark owners (such as .goldmansachs, .instagram and .stubhub). But some applications contain trademarks that correspond to those owned by third parties (such as .ace, .easy and .zoom). Trademark owners themselves are in the best position to review the list and consider what, if anything, to do about any particular application.
Consider Potential Objections
Trademark owners, applicants and others will have an opportunity to file objections against any application, based on four categories:
String confusion objections (SCO) can be filed by existing gTLD operators and existing ccTLD operators if they believe that an applied-for string is “similar visually, aurally, or in meaning to an existing gTLD and/or another applied-for primary string.”
Legal rights objections (LRO) can be filed by rights holders who believe that an applied-for string “infringes their existing legal rights.”
Limited public interest objections (LPI) can be filed by anyone who believes that an applied-for string is “contrary to generally accepted legal norms of morality and public order that are recognized under principles of international law.”
Community objections can be filed by “established institutions associated with clearly delineated communities” that believe there is “well-substantiated opposition” to an applied-for string “from a significant portion of the community that the string may be explicitly or implicitly targeting .”
A one-time window for filing objections will open on November 17, 2026, and close on March 16, 2027.
Remember Existing Rights Protection Mechanisms
Despite the limited time in which trademark owners (and others) have to object to new gTLD applications, everyone will retain their right to dispute any second-level domain name registration within any new gTLD in the future.
The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), which went into effect in 1999 — years before any significant expansion of the domain name system — remains an incredibly effective tool for trademark owners. The most recent quarterly issue of GigaLaw’s Domain Dispute Digest reported a nearly 12 percent increase in the number of UDRP decisions, with a greater than 95 percent transfer rate. While it may be years before any new gTLDs from the 2026 round are delegated, the UDRP will be available for trademark owners once that occurs.
The Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) — which was created as a less-expensive and slightly quicker domain name dispute policy as a result of the 2012 new gTLD round — is also a useful tool for trademark owners, although it has not proven popular (thanks largely to its limited remedy of temporary suspension of a domain name, instead of transfer). The URS will apply to new gTLDs from the 2026 round as well.
