Important notice concerning AF | CX | GS | GY | HT | KI | MS | NF | and SB ccTLD's

CoCCA, the registry provider for the above ccTLDs, will from 7 November 2011 start requiring registrant and administrative contacts to activate their domain name registrations or renewals.

On the registration, renewal or change of registrant the administrative contact and the registrant will receive two emails.

One is a "welcome" message, the second one is an "activation" email with a link that the recipients must click on, within 21 days, to

1. accept the TLD Registrant Agreement and AUP policy; and

2. confirm the validity of their contact details.

A new domain will not be activated after registration unless the domain has been confirmed by clicking on the above-mentioned link. If the domain has not been activated within 21 days after the registration, the domain will be suspended and then deleted.

On renewal or change of a registrant the policy must again be accepted and the contact details confirmed within 21 days or the domain will be suspended. In this case the domain will be forwarded to a parking page until it has been confirmed.

.XXX Landrush Starts on 8 Nov 2011

The .XXX Landrush begins on 8 November 2011 and will run for approximately 18 days.

During this period only those who are members of the adult Sponsored Community can apply for .XXX domain names. Apart from being a member of the adult Sponsored Community, there are no trade mark or pre-ownership rights requirement during this phase of the launch.

There is no first come, first served ranking during the Landrush. At the end of the Landrush period, those .XXX domain names with a single applicant will be automatically allocated. However, those .XXX domain names with more than one applicant will proceed to a closed mini-auction between the competing parties only.

Landrush is designed for those members of the adult Sponsored Community that want to secure premium .XXX domain names.

The application fee is £180 (ex VAT).

XXX Sunrise B Price Reduction

Over 42 000 .XXX domain name applications have been filed during the Sunrise Period (ending 28 October 2011).

Sunrise B is the time when trademark owners can apply to opt-out of .XXX (blocked).

Sunrise B is aimed at applicants from outside of the adult Sponsored Community. These applicants are owners of a qualifying trademark registration, who want to reserve names in order to ensure that those names are not registered as domain names by others in .XXX.

In order to allow trade mark owners to take advantage of the last few days of the Sunrise Period we are reducing the Sunrise B application fee to £135.00 ($229.50).

All applications are pre-screened by the Lexsynergy team to ensure that they comply with the Launch Policies and to avoid rejected applications.

Watch the .XXX promotional video here.

.XXX Sunrise Launch - 7 Sept 2011

What is .XXX?

The adult entertainment industry has, and always will, account for a large amount of content on the Internet and while it is enjoyed by some, it is not suitable, or of interest, to all internet users. Increasingly, Internet users are coming into contact with content that they do not wish to see and in turn, others finding it hard to locate exactly what they are looking for, due to a decrease in availability for precise and clear domain names.

The creation of .XXX will create a clearly signposted place where adult entertainment can be accessed and allow surfers to have a clear idea of the nature of the site before they click, rather than after.

.XXX isn't just a helpful distinction. It's the progressive new home for adult entertainment online.

Relevance to Trade Mark Owners

.XXX is specifically reserved for members of the online adult entertainment industry however trade mark owners will be allowed to block third parties from registering .XXX domain names that match their trade marks. It is highly recommended that trade mark owners take advantage of SUNRISE B to block the use of their trade mark within the .XXX Top Level Domain. Once a .XXX domain is blocked it will permanently prevent another party from registering that domain. Once blocked the trade mark owner will not have to renew the domain name, the Sunrise B fee is a once-off expense. The SUNRISE B application MUST be considered for all key trade marks.

Launch Dates

.XXX will launch in three phases:

Phase 1: Sunrise AT, Sunrise AD and Sunrise B - starts (7 September 2011 – 28 October 2011)

Phase 2: Landrush (8 November 2011 – 25 November 2011)

Phase 3: General Availability (6 December 2011 onwards)

Phase1

Sunrise AT

Registered trade mark owners that are involved in the online adult entertainment industry.

Sunrise AD

Owners of registered domain names that are involved in the online adult entertainment industry.

Sunrise B 

Owners of registered trade marks can apply to opt-out of .XXX.

Login and register your .XXX domain name at www.lexsynergy.com. Lexsynergy is a .XXX accredited registrar.

For more information or if you wish to discuss a .xxx brand protection strategy email xxx@lexsynergy.com or call +442081331319.

New gTLD Webinar - Register Now!

The New Frontier of the Internet…

Due to a historic announcement on 20th June 2011 by the global Internet regulator (The Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers – www.icann.org), the Domain Name industry is about to undertake the biggest revolution the internet has ever seen.

This never before seen program will allow eligible candidates apply to ICANN for new Top-Level Domains (TLDs) as of January 2012, for only a limited 90 day period.

It is anticipated that the program will provide hundreds of new TLDs such as;

Governments (.london or .capetown)

Entrepreneurs (.sport or .music)

Corporations (.nike or .ebay)

These new TLDs will be designed to co-exist with today’s current TLDs such as .com or .info.

As a result of this program, which has now been formally launched across the world, it is vital that organisations understand the impact it will have on their current digital strategies and undertake an immediate assessment of the risks and opportunities.

Global industry leader AusRegistry International, in collaboration with Lexsynergy Limited, will be operating a webinar to help interested organisations understand the impact of these changes. It is recommended that brand, corporate, legal, marketing or technology representatives alike make themselves available for this webinar in order to obtain a clear view on the implications of the new TLD program.

The Webinar will cover:

• New Top-Level Domain program overview

• Risk Assessment

• Opportunity Evaluation

• Provide requirements for participation, and

• Information on how to apply for your own TLD should you wish to do so

Title: The New Frontier of the Internet

Date: Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM CAT

If you would like an invite to the webinar please email domains@lexsynergy.com

com.gh Local Presence Service

Lexsynergy is pleased to announce that is now offers a local presence service for com.gh domain names.

Ghana has a population of approximately 24 million, which combined with its natural resources make it an attractive country for business growth within Africa.

Securing your domain name in Ghana is the first step towards protecting your brand in that country.

For more information email domains@lexsynergy.com.

.ASIA IDN Sunrise Period is Open

DotAsia is introducing Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean IDN characters under the TLD .ASIA.

For more information please read the .ASIA IDN Policy here.

Sunrise Period: May 11 (12:00 UTC) to July 20, 2011 (24:00 UTC)

The Sunrise is divided into three concurrent phases:

Sunrise 1 (SR1): for domains from the governmental reserved names list

Sunrise 2 (SR2): for registered trademarks

Sunrise 3 (SR3): for registered names and extended protection (e.g. for ASCII .ASIA domain name holders with Romanized or transliterated names).

Landrush Period: August 2 (12:00 UTC) to October 11, 2011 (24:00 UTC)

The regular ASCII .ASIA prices apply, minimum registration period: 2 years.

If only one application is received for a domain name during Sunrise and Landrush, the domain will be allocated to the applicant. If there is more than one successful application for the same domain name, the domain will go to an auction.

.XXX Accreditation

Lexsynergy Limited was recently part of the first set of ICANN registrars to be accredited to promote and sell .XXX domain names.

Lexsynergy will shortly be releasing information relating to the launch of .XXX. Although this Top Level Domain is reserved for the online adult entertainment industry, trade mark owners will be given the opportunity to register domain names matching its trade marks.

ICM (.XXX Registry) have opened a pre-reservation service that allows both members and non members of the Sponsored Community (online adult entertainment industry and those supplying products or services to that industry) the opportunity to register expressions of interest in certain domain names. The actual domain names will be allocated in due course via a number of phases. Providing expressions of interest now will ensure that you get notified in advance of the appropriate allocation period and about the availability of the names you have indicated.

There is no charge for pre-reserving your domain name, simply send an email to xxx@lexsynergy.com with the domain names you wish to pre-reserve.

Beginning of the Landrush phase of .SA (Saudi Arabia)

SaudiNIC (.SA Registry) has announced the launch of the Landrush phase of the second level domain .SA.

During this phase second level domains will be registered on a "first come, first served basis" according to SaudiNIC’s regulations and procedures.

Register your .sa domain name at www.lexsynergy.com.

.ee IDN Launch

Registration of domain names containing letters with diacritical marks (IDN)

On 13 June 2011 Estonian Internet Foundation (EIF) will release IDN domain names to the general public.

The EIF in cooperation with the Association of the Estonian Patent Attorneys have introduced a reservation priod of .ee domain names containing letters with diacritical marks before the commencement of the general registration.

During the reservation period you can submit applications for domain names with the following varieties:

1. a business name (including a self-employed person’s business) entered in the Estonian Commercial Register or a name entered in the register of non-profit associations and foundations;
2. a trademark registered in Estonia;
3. the surname of a physical person; and
4. the first name(s) and surname of the physical person.

Relevant dates:

16 May 2011– 5 June 2011 – application submission period.

6 June 2011–12 June 2011 – verification of applications.

13 June 2011 – registration on a "first come, first served basis" of .ee domain names containing letters with diacritical marks.

Note: Before applying please read the Rules relating to .ee IDNs.

For details email domains@lexsynergy.com or visit www.lexsynergy.com to register your .ee domain name.