What are new gTLD Community Priority Evaluation?

The Community Priority Evaluation (CPE) is an optional, high-stakes mechanism within the ICANN New gTLD Program designed to resolve contention for a domain name string when one or more of the applicants claim to represent a legitimate community.

Its primary function is to award priority to a community-based application, allowing it to move forward and prevail over all non-community applicants in the contention set, potentially avoiding a competitive auction.

Key Concepts

Contention Resolution CPE is triggered only when multiple parties apply for the exact same gTLD string.

Purpose It grants a community application priority status if it meets a high threshold, thereby resolving the conflict in its favor against commercial or other non-community applications for the same string.

Third-Party Panel The evaluation is conducted by an independent panel of experts (e.g., The Economist Intelligence Unit - EIU in the 2012 round).

The Four Evaluation Criteria

The CPE panel scores the community application based on four criteria, each worth up to 4 points, for a total maximum score of 16. A minimum score of 14 out of 16 points is required to prevail.

1. Community Establishment (Max 4 points)
   This criterion evaluates the existence, organization, and longevity of the claimed community. The panel assesses whether the community is clearly delineated, existed prior to the new gTLD program, and possesses a demonstrable organizational structure.
2. Nexus between Proposed String and Community (Max 4 points)
   This assesses the relevance and association of the applied-for gTLD string to the community it claims to represent. It looks at how closely the string describes the community and whether the name is unique to that community.
3. Registration Policies (Max 4 points)
   This evaluates the applicant's proposed policies for registering second-level domains (e.g., example.community). The panel ensures these policies are commensurate with the purpose and needs of the identified community and support the community's interests.
4. Community Endorsement (Max 4 points)
   This criterion measures the level of support and opposition the application has received. The panel looks for written endorsements from established, legitimate institutions representing the community, and weighs the significance of any opposition.

The Outcome

Prevailing Score (14+ points): The community application is granted priority. It wins the contention set against all non-community applicants and proceeds with the rest of the application process.

Non-Prevailing Score (Less than 14 points): The application loses its priority status. It must then participate in an ICANN Auction to resolve the contention set along with the other competing applications (community or non-community).

The CPE process safeguards names with genuine community significance, awarding them priority over commercial applicants seeking the same string.

Would you like to know more about the ICANN Auction process that resolves contention when CPE is not used or is unsuccessful?