.co (Colombia) Launch

.CO is the county code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) assigned to Colombia. Besides serving the function of a ccTLD it will also become a popular branding tool on the Internet since the two letters CO are the recognizable abbreviations for Company, Commerce and Communications.

It is currently possible to register a third level domain name (COM.CO, NOM.CO and NET.CO) without restriction.

.CO Launch Schedule

The launch of .CO, the second level domain will occur in 5 stages.

1. Third Level Transition - 7 February 2010

Pre-existing domain names with extensions such as COM.CO, NOM.CO and NET.CO will be transferred to the new registry, for safekeeping, until transferred to a .CO registrar, which must occur before the expiry date of each domain name.

2. Grandfathering - March 2010

Owners of third level domain names (COM.CO, NOM.CO and NET.CO) which were registered before 30 July 2008 can register the corresponding second level domain name. Example: brand.com.co will allow the registrant to register brand.co.

3. Sunrise A / Sunrise B - (1 April 2010 - 20 April 2010) and (26 April 2010 - 10 June 2010)

Trade mark owners who have a trade mark registered on or before 30 July 2008 can apply for a corresponding domain name.

4. Landrush - 21 June 2010 - 13 July 2010

Anyone who is interested in securing a short and memorable domain name of high commercial value will have the opportunity to submit an application before General Availability begins. Matching applications will be resolved at auction.

5. General Availabilty - 20 July 2010

.CO domain names can be registered on a “first come, first served” basis.

If you want a copy of the .co provisional launch document, please email domains@lexsynergy.com.

The above dates are tentative and are subject to change.

.cn dilemma

In previous blog posts and newsletters we reported that the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) has restricted foreign registrars and registrants from registering domain names within the .cn namespace.

These restrictions have placed trade mark owners in a predicament, resulting in some foreign registrars forwarding .cn registrations to local registrars for processing. The circumvention of the restrictions is not ideal and could lead to CNNIC deleting the domain names.

Although not a formal recognised TLD, the alternative is .cn.com. This extension is managed by Centralnic, who uses the .COM, .NET and .ORG standard domain name structure to offer additional regional and country-specific domain names, ensuring a secure, inexpensive solution for creating easily identifiable Internet addresses worldwide. CentralNic's registry service is particularly useful for Internet users in countries where domain names are difficult to obtain due to restrictive domain regulations.

If you require strategic domain name advice email our Domain Name Department at domains@lexsynergy.com or visit www.lexsynergy.tel for more contact information.

.sr - Suriname Domain Names

Suriname is located in the north of South America and its official language is Dutch.

The TLD (Top Level Domain) assigned to Suriname is .sr. This TLD is unrestricted, meaning that there are no restrictions to registering a .sr domain name, which are processed on a "first come, first served" basis.

.sr is also marketed as an abbreviation for seniors, although it is highly unlikely that senior citizens will be registering domain names. This may change as the Internet community ages.