GTLD Auctions: Difference between revisions

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During [[ICANN 45]] in Toronto, auction expert Dr. [[Peter Cramton]] outlined an "ascending clock" model, where a price is increased by the auctioneer at each stage; bidders and sellers can then either drop out or bid on the increased amount.<ref name="domainincite">[http://domainincite.com/10828-heres-how-donuts-wants-to-resolve-its-158-new-gtld-contention-fights Here's how Donuts wants to resolve its 158 new gTLD contention fights]. Domain Incite. Published 2012 October 23. Retrieved 2012 November 13.</ref> ICANN has identified the same style of auction for its own Auction of Last Resort.<ref>[http://www.cramton.umd.edu/aa/cramton-applicant-auction-in-brief.pdf Applicant Auction in Brief, Cramton.umd.edu]Published 21 Nov 2012, retrieved Jan 7 2013</ref> At his presentation following the ICANN Draw in December, 2012, Dr. Cramton also also addressed a sequential first-price sealed bid, noting that the ascending clock model is still preferred given that it involves: better price discovery, better deposit management, reduced tendency to overbid, and is more consistent with the ICANN Auction of Last Resort.<ref name="Cramton Draw Proposal">[http://www.cramton.umd.edu/aa/cramton-applicant-auction-conference-slides.pdf Cramton Applicant Auction Conference Slides, Cramton.umd.edu]Retrieved Jan 7 2013]</ref> He continues to defend his decision to exclusively offer one style of auction, as opposed to [[Right of the Dot]]'s three options, by writing on [[CircleID]], "Choosing an auction design is not a matter of taste, or of favoring one bidder over another. There is a whole field in economics concerned with determining what the best auction is for a particular situation. Thousands of scientific papers have been written on the subject and much has been learned from decades of study." He goes on to note that using an independent system and auction provider, uniform across auctions, takes away the need to negotiate the auction style between the parties and creates a more predictable playing field.<ref name="CircleID Faq">[http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130107_rationale_for_tld_applicant_auctions_to_resolve_string_contentions/ Rationale for TLD Applicant Auctions to Resolve Strings, CircleId.com]Published 8 Jan 2013, Retrieved 8 Jan 2013</ref>

Cramton's original model proposed to run auctions during the first quarter of 2013, before ICANN announced the results of their Initial Evaluation. Such a model would allow losing bidders to receive 70% back from their ICANN application fee, but would pose difficulties if winning applicants later discovered their applications were rejected as other applicants would have withdrawn already, and the new gTLD would be left without an owner. The former model also lumped all TLDs that an individual applicant had applied for in one package. Criticisms stating that such a model would benefit larger companies led to a change, so that auctions will now proceed on a TLD-by-TLD basis, with all auctions being simultaneously resolved at the same time.<ref name="domainincite"></ref>

Cramton's original model proposed to run auctions during the first quarter of 2013, before ICANN announced the results of their Initial Evaluation. Such a model would allow losing bidders to receive 70% back from their ICANN application fee, but would pose difficulties if winning applicants later discovered their applications were rejected as other applicants would have withdrawn already, and the new gTLD would be left without an owner. The former model also lumped all TLDs that an individual applicant had applied for in one package. Criticisms stating that such a model would benefit larger companies led to a change, so that auctions will now proceed on a TLD-by-TLD basis, with all auctions being simultaneously resolved at the same time.<ref name="domainincite"></ref>Cramton has indicated that the final auction price will be made public, along with the winning bidder.<ref>email communication from [[Peter Cramton|Dr. Cramton]] 25 March 2013</ref>

The new proposal is to hold one set of auctions before Initial Evaluations are posted, with a commitment made before the end of February 2013 and the auction happening in March. The second auction would come after Initial Evaluations are posted with commitment made before the end of August, 2013 and auctions taking place in September. Mock auctions are held before the actual auctions.<ref name="Cramton Draw Proposal"></ref> [[Cramton Associates]] has subsequently planned for a third auction to be held around June 2013 for those contention sets that complete their Initial Evaluation early.<ref>[http://www.cramton.umd.edu/aa/cramton-draw-and-applicant-auction.pdf Draw and Applicant Auction, Cramton.umd.edu]Published 4 Dec 2012 Retrieved Jan 7 2013</ref><ref name="CircleID Faq"></ref> This plan is currently in flux given that ICANN announced in mid-January that the results of the [[String Similarity Panel]] would not be done until March 8th, a significant delay, and would thus the first Cramton auction may not be available until the end of March.<ref>[http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130112_more_on_private_auctions_for_new_gtlds/ More on Private Auctions For New gTLDs, CircleID.com]Retrieved 16 Jan 2013, Published 12 Jan 2013</ref>

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 During [[ICANN 45]] in Toronto, auction expert Dr. [[Peter Cramton]] outlined an "ascending clock" model, where a price is increased by the auctioneer at each stage; bidders and sellers can then either drop out or bid on the increased amount.<ref name="domainincite">[http://domainincite.com/10828-heres-how-donuts-wants-to-resolve-its-158-new-gtld-contention-fights Here's how Donuts wants to resolve its 158 new gTLD contention fights]. Domain Incite. Published 2012 October 23. Retrieved 2012 November 13.</ref>  ICANN has identified the same style of auction for its own Auction of Last Resort.<ref>[http://www.cramton.umd.edu/aa/cramton-applicant-auction-in-brief.pdf Applicant Auction in Brief, Cramton.umd.edu]Published 21 Nov 2012, retrieved Jan 7 2013</ref> At his presentation following the ICANN Draw in December, 2012, Dr. Cramton also also addressed a sequential first-price sealed bid, noting that the ascending clock model is still preferred given that it involves: better price discovery, better deposit management, reduced tendency to overbid, and is more consistent with the ICANN Auction of Last Resort.<ref name="Cramton Draw Proposal">[http://www.cramton.umd.edu/aa/cramton-applicant-auction-conference-slides.pdf Cramton Applicant Auction Conference Slides, Cramton.umd.edu]Retrieved Jan 7 2013]</ref> He continues to defend his decision to exclusively offer one style of auction, as opposed to [[Right of the Dot]]'s three options, by writing on [[CircleID]], "Choosing an auction design is not a matter of taste, or of favoring one bidder over another. There is a whole field in economics concerned with determining what the best auction is for a particular situation. Thousands of scientific papers have been written on the subject and much has been learned from decades of study." He goes on to note that using an independent system and auction provider, uniform across auctions, takes away the need to negotiate the auction style between the parties and creates a more predictable playing field.<ref name="CircleID Faq">[http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130107_rationale_for_tld_applicant_auctions_to_resolve_string_contentions/ Rationale for TLD Applicant Auctions to Resolve Strings, CircleId.com]Published 8 Jan 2013, Retrieved 8 Jan 2013</ref>
-Cramton's original model proposed to run auctions during the first quarter of 2013, before ICANN announced the results of their Initial Evaluation. Such a model would allow losing bidders to receive 70% back from their ICANN application fee, but would pose difficulties if winning applicants later discovered their applications were rejected as other applicants would have withdrawn already, and the new gTLD would be left without an owner. The former model also lumped all TLDs that an individual applicant had applied for in one package. Criticisms stating that such a model would benefit larger companies led to a change, so that auctions will now proceed on a TLD-by-TLD basis, with all auctions being simultaneously resolved at the same time.<ref name="domainincite"></ref>
+Cramton's original model proposed to run auctions during the first quarter of 2013, before ICANN announced the results of their Initial Evaluation. Such a model would allow losing bidders to receive 70% back from their ICANN application fee, but would pose difficulties if winning applicants later discovered their applications were rejected as other applicants would have withdrawn already, and the new gTLD would be left without an owner. The former model also lumped all TLDs that an individual applicant had applied for in one package. Criticisms stating that such a model would benefit larger companies led to a change, so that auctions will now proceed on a TLD-by-TLD basis, with all auctions being simultaneously resolved at the same time.<ref name="domainincite"></ref>Cramton has indicated that the final auction price will be made public, along with the winning bidder.<ref>email communication from [[Peter Cramton|Dr. Cramton]] 25 March 2013</ref>
 The new proposal is to hold one set of auctions before Initial Evaluations are posted, with a commitment made before the end of February 2013 and the auction happening in March. The second auction would come after Initial Evaluations are posted with commitment made before the end of August, 2013 and auctions taking place in September. Mock auctions are held before the actual auctions.<ref name="Cramton Draw Proposal"></ref> [[Cramton Associates]] has subsequently planned for a third auction to be held around June 2013 for those contention sets that complete their Initial Evaluation early.<ref>[http://www.cramton.umd.edu/aa/cramton-draw-and-applicant-auction.pdf Draw and Applicant Auction, Cramton.umd.edu]Published 4 Dec 2012 Retrieved Jan 7 2013</ref><ref name="CircleID Faq"></ref> This plan is currently in flux given that ICANN announced in mid-January that the results of the [[String Similarity Panel]] would not be done until March 8th, a significant delay, and would thus the first Cramton auction may not be available until the end of March.<ref>[http://www.circleid.com/posts/20130112_more_on_private_auctions_for_new_gtlds/ More on Private Auctions For New gTLDs, CircleID.com]Retrieved 16 Jan 2013, Published 12 Jan 2013</ref>