The ICANN meeting in Seoul saw the introduction of international domain names (IDNs) implemented at speed but the release of new global top level domains (gTLDs) will not be as quick. ICANN staff revised the deadline of the opening application date for new gTLDs due to controversy and public comment amongst the domain name community.

ICANN released the third version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook for new generic Top-Level Domains but just like the second version was not greeted with universal praise, the third failed to meet the concerns of many internet stakeholders.

At the conference, ICANN stated that the time-line for the introduction of a new global top level domain name would be put off until a later date. There is also likely to be at least one more version of the draft applicant guidebook before the final Guidebook appears. ICANN is still trying to work out solutions for the four overarching issues it has identified:

Trademark Protection - how to protect trademarks in the event of a massive expansion in the domain name space.

Potential for Malicious Conduct - abuse of the DNS, such as phishing, malware, the distribution of illegal content.

Security and Stability – systems currently in place may not be able to cope if all extensions were introduced at the same time.

TLD Demand and Economic Analysis - Further economic analysis will need to be carried out.