ICANN published the applications of its 2026 new gTLD round on 7 October 2026: 1,615 applications from 481 applicants, 333 of them for .brand top-level domains.
The list will still change. Applicants can switch to a back-up string until 21 October 2026, the final list follows on 17 November 2026, and trademark objections can be filed with WIPO until 16 March 2027.
What did ICANN publish on Reveal Day?
ICANN published every applied-for string, its applicant, the public parts of each application and a list of contention sets, on an Application Publication and Statistics (APS) website open to anyone without a login.
ICANN's Reveal Day snapshot also counts 21 applications for internationalised domain names (IDNs), 16 community-based applications and 15 self-identified geographic names.
ICANN's Reveal Day contention set list groups 891 applications into 263 sets. The largest are .agent with 13 applications, .bit with 11, and .api, .hub and .brand with 10 each.
How do you check the applications against your trademarks?
Search the APS Applications tab, which can download any search as a CSV file, in this order:
- Marks and names. Search each mark as a primary string and your company names as applicant names. The search matches part of a string: agent also returns .agentic, .agentur and .aiagent.
- Misspellings and plurals. Check typing errors and singular or plural forms. For 30 days after 17 November 2026, anyone can notify ICANN of a singular and plural pair among applied-for strings or with an existing top-level domain.
- IDN versions. Search the transliterations and translations of your mark, in native script and in the ASCII form beginning with xn--, which Domgate's Punycode converter gives.
- Replacement strings. A back-up string has its own record, with -R after the application ID: the Applications tab lists 1,169. Check both records, since an applicant can switch until 21 October 2026.
For each match outside your own group, open the application. Its public answers give the applicant's legal name, officers and material shareholders, and the string's mission and purpose, which set out the intended use that a Legal Rights panel examines.
Which dates matter for a brand owner?
The dates that matter are 21 October, 17 November and 27 November 2026, and 16 March 2027, all set out in ICANN's Reveal Day announcement.
- 8 to 21 October 2026: String Replacement Period. Applicants with an eligible replacement string can switch to it until 23:59 UTC on 21 October, and the choice cannot be changed once submitted.
- 17 November 2026: String Confirmation Day. ICANN publishes the final list of strings and updated contention sets. After that, only .brand applicants in contention can change their string.
- 17 November 2026 to 16 March 2027: community input and objections. Parties with standing can object, and anyone can comment on ICANN's Application Comment Forum. Comments have no direct impact on an application. Evaluators may still consider those sent in the 104 days after String Confirmation Day.
- 27 November 2026: refund deadline. Until 23:59 UTC, an applicant that withdraws recovers 65% of its evaluation fee, then 35%. A cease-and-desist letter sent before then reaches the applicant while a withdrawal still returns 65%.
How can you object to an application, and what does it cost?
You file it with WIPO or ICC, depending on the ground, and pay that provider's fees: for a trademark, a Legal Rights Objection at WIPO costs USD 2,000 to file and USD 8,000 for a one-member panel if the case goes ahead.
| Ground | Who can file | Provider and published fees |
|---|---|---|
| String confusion | An existing gTLD or ccTLD operator, a significantly interested party in the ccTLD's country, or another applicant | WIPO: filing USD 2,000 (one panellist) or USD 3,000 (three); panel USD 8,000 or USD 20,000 |
| Legal rights | A mark holder or licensee, or an intergovernmental organisation eligible for .int | WIPO: the same amounts |
| Limited public interest | Anyone | ICC: none shown on its page on 8 October 2026 |
| Community | An established institution of a clearly delineated community | ICC: none shown on 8 October 2026 |
Each side pays a non-refundable filing fee. If the objection passes the quick look review, both sides advance the panel fee and the winner gets it back (guidebook section 4.5.6). Each objection covers one ground and, unless the applications are for the same string, one application.
A Legal Rights panel asks whether the applicant's potential use of the string would take unfair advantage of, or unjustifiably impair, the distinctive character or reputation of the mark, or create an impermissible likelihood of confusion.
What should you do now?
Run the check this week, repeat it on 17 November 2026 and put 16 March 2027 in the diary. Objecting is one tool among several:
- Record your marks in the TMCH. Under ICANN's TMCH requirements, each new gTLD runs a sunrise of at least 30 days for marks recorded in the Trademark Clearinghouse (60 for an end-date sunrise), then a claims period of at least 90 days: anyone registering a matching name is warned, and the mark holder is notified if they go ahead.
- Register defensively later. No extension from this round is open yet: the guidebook estimates 15.5 to 16 months for a simple application in the first priority batch, with no objection or contention, to reach its registry contract, before delegation. Take the extensions that matter to your sector at sunrise.
- Plan your own .brand. The 2026 window closed on 12 August 2026, with an evaluation fee of USD 227,000 per application. The ICANN Board is to set the next round's timing as soon as feasible once this round's strings and string changes are settled. Domgate's dot brand page sets out what an application involves.
Domgate is a corporate registrar for country-code domains. Its trademark watching service alerts you when a domain containing your brand is registered in any extension, country codes included. Domgate also records trademarks in the TMCH, follows the launches that matter to you and registers your sunrise names.
