ICANN has opened a comment period on its Last Resort Auctions “To gather community input regarding the detailed rules and processes for Auctions to resolve string contention sets in the New gTLD Program.”
“The Auction Rules have been updated since the initial release of the Preliminary Auction Rules on 1 Nov 2013 based on feedback received including during the Auctions Webinar on 7 November 2013 and the ICANN 48 Meeting in Buenos Aires.
The documents being published for comment are:
Auction Rules version 2013.12.12 – provides a detailed insight into all facets of the Auctions program, including eligibility, scheduling considerations, preparation procedures, deposits, bidding limits, bidding procedures, the conclusion of auctions, payments and refunds. This version of the Auction Rules only addresses Contention Sets with direct contention relationships; an update or addendum will be published at later time to address Contention Sets with both direct and indirect contention relationships.
ICANN and Power Auctions (the Auction Manager) to perform due diligence, set up a bank subaccount and a user account on the Auction Site. The bidder forms must be completed for each application participating in an Auction.
Bidder Agreement – an agreement between the Applicant and/or Bidder and Power Auctions, detailing the roles and responsibilities of each of these parties in the Auction process. The Bidder Agreement must be executed at least one time for each Applicant, and if an applicant utilizes a Designated Bidder, the agreement must be executed for each unique configuration of Applicant and Designated Bidder.
Draft Auction Schedule:
Using the preliminary contention sets which do not include the effect any objection determinations may have, a Draft Auction Schedule has been created.
This schedule utilizes the scheduling criteria defined in the Auction Rules but, due to the dynamic nature of application status, does not take into account the eligibility requirements for a contention set to be sent to Auction by ICANN as defined in the Applicant Guide Book and the Auction Rules. Should contention sets either resolve prior to their scheduled Auction or not yet be eligible for an Auction, ICANN will adjust the schedule in attempt to maintain approximately 20 contention sets per Auction.
ICANN intends to publish a Master Escrow agreement between ICANN, Power Auctions and the Escrow Provider for informational purposes prior to the conclusion of the public comment period. It is not envisioned that Bidders will execute an agreement with the Escrow Provider; rather the Bidder’s Agreement will create a relationship where the Bidder will be a third party beneficiary to the Escrow Agreement.…
