Registered trademark owners can successfully secure their eligible .co top level domain during a global sunrise process, announced .CO Internet SAS.
The new registry operator launched the sunrise process at the Web 2.0. Expo 2010, in San Francisco.
In an open letter sent to brand owners in March, the new registry operator attempted to quell fears that the Columbian domain could be misspelt. The .co domain could take traffic from .com domains.
It said: “As a steward of the Internet, we are committed to managing the .co registry in a responsible manner—one that places a premium on protecting the rights of brand owners.”
During consultation with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a number of recommendations were made to the new registry operator that would protect trademarks owners when the new top level domain goes live.
A strict validation process, administered by Deloitte, will not grant applications on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis during the sunrise process, the new registrar says. Applications will be collected until June 10.
From then on, single, validated applications will be awarded at the end of the sunrise period. As a precautionary measure, an application for the same domain name from more than one entity, with each entity having corresponding trademarks, will result in the name going to auction to determine its owner.
This article was first published on 01 June 2010 in World IP Review
.co, TLD, domain, sunrise, applications, ICANN
