You seem to be missing that trademarks are generally context specific

E.g. Apple has a trademark in the context of technology but not in the context of farming

Whereas gTLDs are flat namespace

Ok, good point. I assumed global trademarks but yes trademarks are nation based.

Should then only multi-national organisations be allowed to obtain gTLDs?

Obviously the ICANN price tag of USD227k is also a good entry barrier.

	▲	echoangle 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		The problem isn’t that trademarks are country-based but that trademarks are business area based. You can have multiple trademarks for the same word for different companies if the companies do different things. Apple doesn’t have the right to prevent you from using the word „apple“ to sell lawn mowers.