Summary

  • An applicant can arrive at Reveal Day with a second-choice gTLD string and still discover that the backup is unusable before anybody has activated it.
  • An applicant could designate one replacement string when submitting each application.

The option had to exist before the market became visible

An applicant could designate one replacement string when submitting each application. It cannot invent a new one after Reveal Day. That sequencing matters. Reveal Day gives applicants the first common view of applied-for strings, applicant identities, designated replacements and identical-string contention sets. The replacement mechanism then permits a choice based on that public record, but only between the two strings already placed in the application.

For an eligible replacement, ICANN will issue a task in the TLD Application Management System. The applicant submits one Replacement String Attestation: keep the original or elect the replacement. Once submitted, the selection cannot be changed. If no election is made during the 14-day period, the application continues with the original string. If the replacement is selected, the original cannot later be reinstated.

That is not a drafting correction. It is an irreversible exercise of an option.

ICANN sources