Summary

  • The primary IDN is the evaluation dependency root: if it is disqualified, every associated variant is also disqualified.
  • A disqualified requested variant has a different path: remove it through a successful Application Change Request and the primary plus remaining variants that are not disqualified may continue.

The Root Zone Label Generation Rules do more than produce spelling alternatives. They calculate a primary string's variant-string-set and assign disposition values. Applicants may request allocatable variants, but cannot apply for blocked variants. The selected primary therefore anchors both the available set and the application's evaluation structure.

For a new IDN in the same round, the primary and requested allocatable variants travel in one application. If evaluation succeeds, they are allocated to the same registry operator through one Registry Agreement. That shared filing should not be mistaken for equal independence among its strings.

Section 7.6.3 establishes the first direction of dependency. If the primary applied-for IDN is disqualified for any reason, all associated variant strings are also disqualified, and the entire application cannot proceed. A variant cannot preserve an application whose primary has failed.

The reverse direction is narrower. If one requested variant is disqualified, the applicant must file an Application Change Request to remove that variant. If the ACR succeeds, the primary and any remaining requested variants that are not disqualified may continue. The failed variant is therefore removable, but its removal is a required procedural step rather than an automatic cure.

Submission also fixes the outer boundary. An applicant may later withdraw a requested variant through an ACR, but cannot add an allocatable variant that was omitted from the original application. Each requested variant also needs a necessity justification addressing its meaning, recognition by the intended user community, its benefits, and the communities that will benefit.

BTW recommends maintaining a dependency ledger with one row for the primary and one for each requested variant, recording RZ-LGR disposition, justification, evaluation outcome and any ACR. That is editorial guidance, not an ICANN requirement.

Sources