Five Things Trademark Holders Need to Know on ICANN’s String Reveal Day

Even if an organisation decided not to make an application for a dotBrand TLD in the most recent ICANN window, String Reveal Day is a very important event for any trademark holder.

On that date, likely to be in early to mid-October, ICANN will publish details of all the applied-for strings and relevant public application information. It is not merely an announcement for those who made an application.  It starts a short, consequential period for identifying brand risks for all trademark holders.

1. Identify direct or confusingly similar trademark matches

The first task is to determine whether any applicant has applied for:

• Your exact corporate name, house mark, product brand or other critical trademark.
• A singular or plural version of a core trademark.
• A transliteration, translation, abbreviation or phonetic equivalent that may create consumer confusion.
• A string with a close visual, aural or conceptual similarity to a key brand.
• A term that could become a trusted-looking destination for phishing, fraud, counterfeiting or customer diversion.

The initial triage should extend beyond exact matches of the TLDs on the ICANN list. A string may be legally distinct yet still create substantial practical risk because of how it is read, pronounced, marketed or used in a particular sector.

Create a prioritised list of your marks rather than treating every match alike. High-priority examples include marks connected with payments, healthcare, account access, regulated services, high-value products, customer support and brands with a substantial fraud history.

2. Review the applicant and not just the string

The same string can present very different risks depending on who applied for it and how they intend to operate it.

On String Reveal Day, ICANN will make public a significant amount of detail from within the individual applications including the identity of the applicant, their corporate structure, stated meaning, mission and purpose, the type of TLD application, any additional restrictions or registration policies, target community or market for the TLD, and any public-interest or geographic references.

A reputable organisation seeking a clearly unrelated term, but relevant to the organisation’s competitive market, may warrant ongoing monitoring only. A direct competitor, an entity with unclear credentials, or an applicant proposing a broad open registry under a brand-sensitive string may require faster legal, commercial and security attention.

This assessment should bring together trademark professionals, domain-management specialists, digital brand-protection teams, cybersecurity, corporate communications and relevant business owners as it may not be evident through a single lens of what the risk could be.

3. Reveal Day kicks off a very narrow but critical decision period

For all TLD applicants, ICANN’s String Reveal Day triggers a 14-day Replacement Period. An eligible applicant may elect to substitute its original requested string with a replacement string that was designated in its application. The replacement choice is consequential and cannot simply be reversed later.

That matters to trademark holders in two ways.

First, the initial String Reveal Day list may not be the final list of strings that proceed through the programme. A potentially problematic application may be replaced, while a replacement string may create a new concern. Second, organisations that have applied for a TLD must make rapid decisions if their intended string is identical to, or otherwise caught in, an early ICANN defined contention set.

All of the replacement strings will be published alongside the primary applications by ICANN on String Reveal Day which will give organisations an opportunity to assess any potential risks should an applicant decide to switch their applicant TLD.  However, this information will not be revealed until String Confirmation Day which is likely to be 2 to 3 weeks after the 14-day period has elapsed.

What is important for any organisation is to ensure they are prepared for the release of the strings and understanding which TLDs could prove a risk to existing brands and intellectual property.  The time to act is limited and so gaining practical, comprehensive and rapid advice from someone who understands the landscape is critical.

4. The opportunity to formally challenge an application comes later but preparation begins now

ICANN’s String Reveal Day itself is not the primary objection deadline. Under ICANN’s 2026 process, the main objection-filing period is expected to run for 104 days following String Confirmation Day, when the set of strings proceeding is confirmed, likely to be in late November or early December. Any parties with legal standing will have an opportunity to file objections based on string confusion, legal rights, limited public interest or community grounds if they meet the relevant criteria to object.

For most trademark holders, the relevant potential route will be a Legal Rights Objection, where the objector must meet the applicable standing and substantive tests, or, in certain cases, a String Confusion Objection. These are specialised proceedings, not routine enforcement tools, and they require a well-developed factual and legal record.

Use the period after String Reveal Day to gather evidence and assess the viability of any challenge should the string be confirmed by ICANN:

• Confirm trademark registrations.
• Gather evidence of reputation, geographic reach, sales, advertising and public recognition.
• Document prior confusion, phishing, counterfeiting, impersonation or enforcement history where relevant.
• Analyse the applicant’s proposed use, target audience and registration policies.
• Obtain early advice on standing, cost, remedies, procedural deadlines and prospects.

Starting the decision-making process for any potential objection on String Reveal Day, rather than waiting for String Confirmation Day to begin this work can make a 104-day filing period feel much shorter than it appears and will allow you to seek expert external opinion on what options could be available to the organisation.

5. Contention rules limit what applicants can discuss

Where an organisation is itself an applicant, it must be particularly careful after ICANN Reveal Day. ICANN’s 2026 contention rules, laid down in the Applicant Guidebook (AGB) prohibit applicants, their agents and affiliates in the same contention set from communicating directly or indirectly about the contending applications, strategies for the in-contention strings or strategies to resolve contention, which ICANN refer to as Private Resolution. The restriction applies from Reveal Day until the relevant contention is resolved through withdrawal or execution of a Registry Agreement by the prevailing applicant.

This is a significant departure from the previous application round in 2012 where competing applicants could privately negotiate a settlement, withdrawal, joint plan or ultimately take part in a private auction. As soon as ICANN reveal the applied for strings, that informal outreach to solve a conflict is prohibited.

Trademark holders with their own applications should therefore ensure that all internal teams are aware of these communications restrictions. A well-intended conversation with a competitor, industry contact or intermediary could create unnecessary compliance risk, where the ultimate sanction could be the termination of the TLD application.

Summary – A practical Reveal Day checklist

ICANN’s String Reveal Day should activate a coordinated response, not an ad hoc search across the thousands of anticipated applied for primary and replacement strings This needs to focus on:

1. Screening of all revealed strings against your prioritised trademark list.
2. Assessing applicant identity, intent, legitimacy and proposed TLD registry model.
3. Monitoring of any activity during the 14-day replacement period and re-screen relevant changes.
4. Preparing potential objections and evidence before formal deadlines open.
5. Enforcing internal communication protocols where your organisation is in contention.

For trademark holders, the central lesson is simple – visibility is not protection. String Reveal Day provides the intelligence needed to make decisions, but the value lies in acting quickly, selectively and with a clear legal, commercial and security strategy.

Looking for help assessing your trademarks ahead of String Reveal Day?

Reach out and our team can help you understand what to look for and what steps may be available.