Preparing for the 2026 gTLD round: a brand-protection checklist
On 13 August 2026, ICANN confirmed that the application window for the next new gTLD round had closed, with more than 1,600 primary applications received. Reveal Day, String Confirmation Day, and Sunrise periods follow on a schedule ICANN has not yet finalized. For brand owners, the window to act is not closed – it is opening.
The 2026 gTLD round will create hundreds of new domain zones, each a fresh surface for cybersquatting, typosquatting, and opportunistic registration of marks you have built over years. Three mechanisms protect brand owners before and after launch: Trademark Clearinghouse recordal, Sunrise registration, and the Legal Rights Objection process. After delegation, URS suspension and UDRP transfer proceedings are the enforcement tools. Acting before strings are delegated costs far less than pursuing a UDRP after the damage is done.
This checklist walks each stage in order, dates every figure to its source, and flags what remains unsettled as of August 28, 2026.
What has ICANN confirmed so far?
ICANN confirmed on 13 August 2026 that more than 1,600 primary applications were submitted before the window closed on 12 August 2026, plus more than 1,100 secondary applications for replacement strings. The final total was subject to confirmation after evaluation fees were paid, and as of August 28, 2026, a definitive list had not been published. Verify the current position directly with ICANN.
What comes next follows a sequence ICANN has established but not yet scheduled: String Confirmation Day, during which applied-for strings are publicly identified; a contention-resolution phase where competing applicants negotiate or proceed to auction; and Reveal Day, which precedes delegation to the root zone. First delegations are not expected before 2028. The specific dates for each milestone are set by ICANN – do not rely on any third-party estimate.
The Legal Rights Objection window opens from String Confirmation Day and runs for a period ICANN will announce. Mark that deadline on your calendar now, because the LRO is a pre-delegation remedy. Once a string is delegated, that route closes.
Why does this round matter for new gTLD brand protection?
Every new zone is a new attack surface. A registrant who missed a brand-matching .com in 1995 was an early mover; a registrant who snaps up a brand-matching string in a new gTLD in 2027 is a cybersquatter with a filing fee and an objection window that has already closed. The economics are straightforward: a low registration fee, a plausible-looking domain, and a brand owner who assumed the round did not concern them.
We regularly advise brand owners who discover their mark in a new gTLD only after general availability opens. By that point, the Sunrise period has passed, and the cheapest route – pre-emptive registration by the rights holder – is gone. What remains is a URS proceeding or a UDRP complaint, each with its own cost and timeline. A URS filing can suspend a domain quickly, but suspension is not transfer: the domain remains in the registrant's name until the registration period ends. That distinction catches many brand owners by surprise.
For an assessment of your exposure across the new gTLD round, contact info@cognomenlaw.com.
The Trademark Clearinghouse: the foundation of new gTLD brand protection
The Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) is the central registry of verified marks that feeds Sunrise periods and Claims notices across new gTLDs. If your mark is not in the TMCH before a Sunrise period opens, you cannot participate in that Sunrise. That is the hard rule: no TMCH recordal, no early access.
TMCH recordal is priced per mark per year by the TMCH operator – confirm the current rate directly with the TMCH before submitting. Processing takes time, and Sunrise windows for individual strings may open at different points once delegation begins. Do not wait for a specific string to be announced before recording: record now, and the recordal applies across all new gTLDs that use the TMCH mechanism.
After Sunrise, a Claims period of 90 days follows general availability. During the Claims period, a registrant who tries to register a domain matching a TMCH-recorded mark receives a warning notice. If they proceed, the mark holder receives a notification. This is not a block – it is a notice. A determined bad actor will register anyway. The Claims period buys you intelligence, not immunity.
Sunrise participation: what it gives you and what it does not
Sunrise is the pre-delegation period during which verified rights holders can register a matching string in a new gTLD before the general public can. It lasts at least 30 days per ICANN's published requirements. For most brand owners, Sunrise registration is the cleanest answer: you own the domain from day one, at the cost of the annual registration fee, with no dispute process required.
The practical limits are real, though. First, you can only register in a Sunrise if your mark is already TMCH-recorded. Second, each new gTLD has its own registry operator, its own pricing, and its own Sunrise mechanics – not all registries are required to run identical processes. Third, the volume of new strings in this round means the administrative load of monitoring and registering across hundreds of zones is significant. We advise clients to triage: identify the strings where cybersquatting is a genuine commercial risk, and focus resources there rather than registering defensively everywhere.
Where a Sunrise registration is not pursued – and a bad actor registers the matching string during general availability – the enforcement path shifts to URS or UDRP. Understand that difference before you decide what to skip.
Legal Rights Objection: the pre-delegation challenge
A Legal Rights Objection is filed with WIPO and allows a rights holder to challenge an applied-for gTLD string itself – not an individual domain registration within that zone, but the string at the registry level. An LRO can prevent a harmful string from being delegated at all. This is categorically different from a domain-level UDRP or URS.
The LRO window runs from String Confirmation Day for a period ICANN will announce. As of August 28, 2026, String Confirmation Day had not occurred; verify the current schedule before acting. The standard for an LRO is high: the objector must show that delegation of the string would take unfair advantage of the mark holder's rights or be unjustifiably detrimental to them. Generic or descriptive marks are unlikely to succeed. Strong, distinctive marks with a clear industry nexus to the applied-for string are the realistic candidates.
File early. WIPO's LRO process has its own deadlines and formal requirements. Missing the window forfeits the only mechanism that operates before delegation.
Post-delegation enforcement: URS versus UDRP
Once a new gTLD is delegated and registrations open, two procedures are available against abusive registrations: the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) and the UDRP. They are not interchangeable.
The URS is a faster, lower-cost mechanism designed specifically for new gTLDs. Its remedy is suspension of the domain for the remaining registration term – the registrant does not lose the domain, and it does not transfer to you. The evidentiary standard is higher than the UDRP: "clear and convincing" evidence. URS legal fees run from approximately USD 1,200 to USD 2,000, with forum fees from USD 375. It is appropriate where you need the domain taken down quickly and transfer is not the priority.
The UDRP delivers transfer or cancellation – a permanent result. Filing fees at WIPO start at USD 1,500 for a single-member panel on one to five domains. A standard case runs about two months. The UDRP requires proving all three elements of Paragraph 4(a): confusing similarity, no legitimate interest, and registration and use in bad faith. In a recent new gTLD matter – a brand-matching .store registration, spring 2026 – we secured a transfer order within the standard UDRP timeline after the registrant defaulted, having registered the domain the day general availability opened.
The choice between URS and UDRP turns on what outcome you actually need. If the domain is actively redirecting your customers, suspension today may be more valuable than transfer in two months. If the registration has long-term strategic significance, UDRP transfer is the right instrument.
To weigh URS against UDRP for a new gTLD registration, email info@cognomenlaw.com.
The practical checklist: steps by stage
The following sequence maps brand-protection actions to the stages of the new gTLD round as they unfold. Each step is actionable now or is triggered by an ICANN milestone.
- Record your marks in the TMCH immediately. Processing takes time. Record now so your marks are verified before any Sunrise window opens. Confirm the current TMCH recordal fee with the TMCH operator.
- Monitor the ICANN new gTLD applicant list. Once String Confirmation Day occurs, identify applied-for strings that match or are confusingly similar to your marks. As of August 28, 2026, the full applicant list had not been published – verify the current position.
- Assess Legal Rights Objection candidates. For any applied-for string that poses a systemic risk at the registry level, consult counsel immediately. The LRO window is short and closes before delegation.
- Set Sunrise alerts for each delegated string of concern. Each new gTLD's Sunrise opens at delegation, lasts at least 30 days, and closes before general availability. Missing it means the cheapest preventive step is gone.
- Register during Sunrise where the commercial risk justifies it. Triage: not every new zone needs a defensive registration. Focus on strings where your mark is at genuine risk of abuse.
- Monitor Claims notices during the 90-day Claims period. Every notification that a matching registration was attempted despite a Claims warning is intelligence about bad actors in that zone.
- After general availability, run watch services. Automated monitoring of new registrations matching your mark across all delegated gTLDs is the early-warning system that makes URS and UDRP filings timely.
- When an abusive registration appears, choose the right instrument. URS for rapid suspension; UDRP for permanent transfer. Timing matters: the longer an abusive domain operates, the greater the reputational and commercial damage.
COGNOMEN handles domain disputes exclusively, and in our practice we have worked through each of these stages across prior gTLD rounds. The lesson from previous rounds is consistent: brand owners who treat Sunrise participation as optional spend more on UDRP proceedings than a timely registration would have cost.
About COGNOMEN
COGNOMEN is an independent boutique focused exclusively on domain-name disputes. We recover, defend, and transact internet domains across generic and country-code zones, before WIPO, the Forum, CAC, ADNDRC, and national procedures, and in court where arbitration cannot reach. We act for brand owners, domain investors, and registrants – including respondent-side defense and reverse domain name hijacking. Our practice covers URS and new gTLD disputes, UDRP proceedings in all major forums, and the full lifecycle of brand protection across new zone launches. To discuss a domain, contact info@cognomenlaw.com.
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Frequently asked questions
What changed and when?
ICANN's application window for the next new gTLD round opened on 30 April 2026 and closed on 12 August 2026. ICANN confirmed on 13 August 2026 that more than 1,600 primary applications had been received. String Confirmation Day, Reveal Day, Sunrise periods, and delegation dates follow on a schedule ICANN has not yet finalized. As of August 28, 2026, the full string list was not public – verify the current position with ICANN before acting on any specific string.
Who does this affect?
Any brand owner whose trademark, trade name, or product name could be registered as a domain in a new gTLD is affected. The round is particularly relevant for owners of distinctive marks in sectors likely to attract new strings – technology, finance, health, and retail among them. Domain investors holding keyword-rich names in existing zones should also monitor the new strings, as delegation can create competing registrations in adjacent zones that affect the value of their portfolios.
What should I do now?
Three actions are available immediately, before any string is confirmed or delegated. First, record your marks in the Trademark Clearinghouse – without TMCH recordal you cannot participate in Sunrise. Second, set up monitoring for the ICANN applicant list so you can identify strings of concern as soon as they are confirmed. Third, consult counsel on whether any applied-for string justifies a Legal Rights Objection, because that window opens and closes before delegation. After delegation, Sunrise registration, Claims monitoring, and URS or UDRP enforcement follow in sequence.
Author: Cordelia Roe — UDRP complainant practice & gTLD recovery; domain transactions and brand protection. Meet the team.
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This publication is general information and does not constitute legal advice. For advice on your situation, contact info@cognomenlaw.com.