ICANN warns deadline new gTLD owners to delegate, .emerson terminates its registry agreement

ICANN has warned new top level domain name applicants whose contracts have been signed to move to the delegation phase. One .brand new gTLD applicant Emerson Electric Co (NYSE:EMR) has terminated its new TLD ambitions.

There are about 200 TLDs with approaching delegation deadlines between now and the end of August 2016. ICANN is working directly with these registry operators to support them in this process. Additional information for registry operators is on the Pre-Delegation Testing page on the New gTLD Program microsite.

If a registry operator does not meet its delegation deadline, ICANN has the option to terminate the registry agreement, as per Section 4.3(b) of the agreement:

§4.3 Termination by ICANN

(b) ICANN may, upon notice to Registry Operator, terminate this Agreement if Registry Operator fails to complete all testing and procedures (identified by ICANN in writing to Registry Operator prior to the date hereof) for delegation of the TLD into the root zone within twelve (12) months of the Effective Date. Registry Operator may request an extension for up to additional twelve (12) months for delegation if it can demonstrate, to ICANN‘s reasonable satisfaction, that Registry Operator is working diligently and in good faith toward successfully completing the steps necessary for delegation of the TLD. Any fees paid by Registry Operator to ICANN prior to such termination date shall be retained by ICANN in full.

Although ICANN expects registry operators to meet the 12-month deadline, Section 4.3(b) provides an opportunity for a registry operator to request an extension. If the registry operator is working diligently and in good faith to achieve delegation within the agreed-upon timeframe, ICANN will work with the registry operator to provide a reasonable extension and avoid termination.

Meanwhile, Emerson Electric Co (NYSE:EMR) has abandoned its plans to operate the .emerson top level domain name. The company notified ICANN (pdf) last week that it is terminating its registry agreement.