ICANN publishes the new gTLD contention sets identified by the string similarity review
ICANN has published the contention sets identified by the string similarity review for applications submitted as part of the new gTLD Program. The full list of contention sets are posted here: PDF [162 KB], CSV [65 KB] or from the Applicants’ Corner page on the new gTLD microsite.
The String Similarity Panel assesses whether a proposed gTLD string creates a probability of user confusion due to similarity with any reserved name, any existing TLD, any requested IDN ccTLD, or any new gTLD string applied for in the current application round.
The list released is of exact similar strings called “EXACT MATCH CONTENTION SETS” than those that sound identical, such as .inc and .ink or those that have the same meaning like .Deal and .Deals or those that are singular and plurals of the same word, This means that the applicants of these strings after new gTLD’s roll out may end up facing a a tough time marketing these strings.
Per the Applicant Guidebook, a contention set is a group of two or more applications containing identical or visually similar applied-for gTLD strings. For more information on string contention procedures, please refer to Module 4 [PDF, 428 KB] of the Applicant Guidebook.
Some of the strings that may face such a task include
.Secure/.Security
.Sport/.Sports
.Shop/.Shopping
.Tech/.Technology
.Web/.Webs
.Site/.Website
However ICANN has a reminder that , the objection filing period is open until 13 March 2013. For more information refer to the Objection & Dispute Resolution page.
