At the Beijing ICANN meetings, many applicants for contested gTLD expressed a strong interest in participating in our private auction, the Applicant Auction, as soon as possible. We are happy to report that we now have sufficient firm commitments to go ahead with holding a first auction in the second half of May. We shared a number of significant updates at our workshops - most importantly, Morrison & Foerster, LLP, a global law firm, will be acting as the natural party for our auctions.

To sort out the last details of the auction arrangements, the Applicant Auction team has prepared a Request For Comments document with proposed terms and is requesting comments from applicants who are interested in participating in the first auction. Based on the applicants' input, the final schedule and rules for the first auction will then be published on Monday, April 29, and applicants can then decide whether they would like to participate, and with which of their TLD applications.

Please fill out the form below for access to the RFC.