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ARTICLE · 20 OCTOBER 2026

Joining The Dots – Part 4: Deadlines Announced

CMS Wistrand
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ICANN received over 1600 applications for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) after closing its application window in August 2026. With Reveal Day set for October 7, 2026, brand owners must prepare to review published strings and consider filing legal rights objections by the March 16, 2027 deadline to protect their trademarks from potential infringement.

United KingdomIntellectual Property
Tom Scourfield
Tom Scourfield
Tom Reid
Tom Reid

As discussed in previous Law-Nows in the ‘Joining the Dots’ series (see links below), in April 2026, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”), the non-profit organisation responsible for co-ordinating the global domain name system, invited applications to become the registry for a new round of generic top-level domains (“gTLDs”). 

The application window closed on 12 August 2026 and ICANN has announced that it received over 1600 new applications, indicating that the appetite for new gTLDs is alive and well. 

On 29 September 2026, ICANN set the timetable for the next stages in the process as follows:

  • 7 October 2026 - Reveal Day: On this day, the full list of new strings applied for (and details of the applicants) will be published.

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