Bloomberg BNA Quotes Steptoe’s Winterfeldt on ICANN’s Updated Guidebook

Steptoe partner Brian Winterfeldt, a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property group, was quoted by Bloomberg BNA’s Electronic Commerce & Law Report article titled “ICANN’s New gTLD Registration Now Open: Some Processes Updated, Others Unresolved.”

On January 12, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) opened the widely publicized application window for creating new generic top level domain names, giving assurances to US regulators that the program satisfies all relevant requirements under consumer protection and antitrust laws, as well ICANN’s separate contractual obligations to the Department of Commerce.  Simultaneously, ICANN posted an updated applicant guidebook, which provides updates on what types of information must be included in the application, background screening processes, solidification of a significantly reduced amount required for the continued operations instrument— a change that may reduce the barriers to entry in the new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD).

“While these changes are mostly minor, the timing of the updates add another layer of potential challenges for applicants navigating an already complex process,” said Mr. Winterfeldt.