.NZ Offers Shorter Domain Names Starting 30 September 2014

On Tuesday, 30 September 2014 at 13:00 NZST (12:00AM UTC), the .NZ Registry will start accepting .NZ registrations directly at the second level.

There are two types of names that can be registered during this time:

Unique names, meaning names that have not been registered in any of the 13 .NZ subdomains (such as .co.na , .net.nz and .org.nz).

Matching Names, where the longer version of the desired new name is already registered in one of the existing subdomains.

For matching Names, during a six month period (30 September 2014 at 13:00 NZST (12:00AM UTC) - 30 March 2015 at 13:00 NZST (12:00AM UTC)), those eligible can get the shorter version of their domain name before anyone else or reserve it for free for a limited time through the Preferential Registration Eligibility program, which allows current registrants to get the shorter match of an existing domain name or a reasonable alternative. 

In cases where two or more matching domain names exist, those names are considered “in conflict”. Lexsynergy can mediate the conflict for you.

Starting 30 September, instead of registering YourName.net.nz (where “net” constitutes the second level), customers can now register YourName.nz (where “YourName” will constitute the second level).

Due to the relative ease and low cost of registering a shorter .NZ domain name, Lexsynergy strongly recommends that clients register or reserve any .NZ domain names for which they are eligible. It is important to note that within the .NZ domain name space no preference is given to people who have rights in a name (such as a company or trademark owner).

If you would like more information about the new shorter .NZ domain names, please contact domains@lexsynergy.com today.

.CAPETOWN, .DURBAN and .JOBURG Sunrise Closing 1 October 2014

The .CAPETOWN, .DURBAN and .JOBURG domain name extensions were made specifically for the South African cities of Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. There are just a couple of days left the the Sunrise phases of the simultaneous launches of these three uniquely South African extensions. If you have a trade mark in South Africa, Lexsynergy recommends you consider registering in one or more of the three South African city domain name extensions.

We might be slightly biased because of our strong connection to South Africa, but Lexsynergy believes these extensions will realise strong performance in Q4 of 2014.

The Sunrise phases end at 29h59 SAST (21h59 UTC) on 1 October 2014, so visit our information pages now!

Lexsynergy.com/capetown
Lexsynergy.com/durban
Lexsynergy.com/joburg

Certain domain names have been classified as Premium and will be sold at higher prices. If you wish to apply for a Premium domain name please email support@lexsynergy.com to process your application.

“Where in the world are you?”

How would you answer that question? “Europe”? “Cape Town”? “Silver Lake Road”? “Down the street”?

According to research, 43% of all Google searches are local or location-based. And prior to 2014, if a person, company, or organization wanted to differentiate their website for local results, they had to add their city or region to the left of the dot in their domain name.

That’s now changing.

In 2014, the expansion of Internet names beyond the familiar .com, .org and .co.uk extensions has allowed residents of London, Vienna, Berlin, Las Vegas and many other cities, regions and countries throughout the world the opportunity to convey, more precisely than ever, were they are, where they do business, and where they call home.

Take, for example, a business called Flowers by Michelle. located in New York City. Ten years ago, when Michelle launched her shop, she registered FlowersByMichelleNewYorkCity.com. Descriptive? Yes? Easy to remember? Maybe. Short? Not exactly.

But now, thanks to the introduction of new domain extensions, Michelle will be able to promote her business using FlowersByMichelle.nyc, FreshFlowersIn.nyc, and countless other geographically relevant names!

In fact, by the end of the year more than a dozen geographically focused extensions will be made available to the public in General Availability (meaning domain names are “open to all”), including New York City, Paris, Okinawa, Quebec, Moscow, and Durban, as well as the Basque, Saarland and Brittany regions of Europe.

What does this mean for you?

Improved SEO – Research suggests that publishing a website using a city- or region-based domain name extension may improve SEO and help your marketing investments go further where they’ll have the most impact.

A better name – The introduction of city- and region-based extensions means you compete with fewer people for descriptive domain names.

Built-in community – Publishing your website using a city- or region-based domain name, your on-line identity automatically becomes part of your community in a way that so-called “generic” can’t match.

At Lexsynergy, we understand complex global markets. Visit www.lexsynergy.com or email domains@lexsynergy.com to put your business at the forefront of your local community today.

Lexsynergy - Our Domain is Domains™

Clicked in China

The Chinese footprint is everywhere as evidenced by the “Made in China” mark printed, pasted or stuck onto most products. This footprint has now leapt onto the web creating a potential online consumer base of over 1.3 billion.

How do you turn these population numbers into clicks on the Internet? One answer is express your brand locally with a local identifier, a localised domain name.

The launch of hundreds of new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs, or TLDs for short) includes the introduction of Chinese language domain name extensions listed below. Some are written in Chinese, one in Pinyin (the official phonetic script used to transcribe Mandarin into Chinese characters).

wang – pinyin for WEB

中文网 – WEBSITE

在线 – ONLINE

移动 – MOBILE

机构 – ORG

商城 – MALL

公司 – COMPANY

网络 – NETWORK

The above TLDs accept Latin and Chinese characters although they cannot be combined in one domain name. It is therefore possible to register:

domainname.在线; and 
the Chinese version 域名.在线;
but not 域名domain.在线.

The generic nature of these Chinese new TLDs makes them an attractive proposition to the Chinese speaking community.

Trade mark owners in the Western world tend to brush-off foreign character domain names due to a lack of understanding but they can no longer be ignored. Trade mark owners should employ a strategy to secure their marks within these Chinese new TLDs to reserve a place for the mark to enter the Chinese market.

Our Brand Protection Department has seen the absence of a defensive strategy result in many trade mark owners losing out on securing their mark as .cn, com.cn and .中国 domain names. If your trade mark is still available with the country code extension for China, stop reading this and register your domain names!

Reading on? So you must have secured your .cn, com.cn and .中国domain names or have lost out.

Nevertheless, the birth of these new TLDs should be seen as the opportunity to be proactive within the Chinese market, mitigate risk and ensure a presence in this influential market.

Let’s get your trade mark clicked in China.

Get in touch with us to discuss your Chinese domain name strategy or to register your marks within Chinese domain name extensions.

.LONDON to .PARIS Faster than Eurostar!

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Sure the Eurostar can get you from London to Paris in less than three hours. But Lexsynergy can get you from .LONDON to .PARIS in an instant (and without the expensive currency exchange fees)!

In recent months, geographically focused domain name extensions have been gaining substantial popularity, especially where "non dot com" domain names are part of everyday life. And perhaps nowhere in the world are "non dot com" names more ubiquitous than in England and France. With .CO.UK and .FR extensions being used in adverts on trams and rues on both sides of the Channel, .LONDON and .PARIS extensions are poised for wide-scale adoption.

Both extensions have enjoyed significant exposure thanks to their intrinsic value as vibrant world capitals, and both have benefited from sleek marketing campaigns.

According to statistical resources, .LONDON domain name registrations reached over 35,500 in less than 24 hours of General Availability and while registration numbers for .PARIS will not be available until later launch phases, Lexsynergy expects this extension to gain nearly immediate acceptance in Paris and the rest of the world.

To register a .LONDON domain name today, visit Lexsynergy.com/london. To learn more about the .PARIS extension and participate in the Sunrise phase of the launch, visit Lexsynergy.com/paris.

Email brandprotection@lexsynergy.com or call one of our six worldwide offices today for more information about how Lexsynergy can help you protect your brand not just in London and Paris, but throughout the world.

Geo-Domain Name Extenstions Take Center Stage

In the last month, Lexsynergy has opened 18 new domain name extensions with geographic or linguistic emphasis to its customers. These extensions are largely focused on serving their implied communities, but many of them are available to anyone internationally, regardless if they have a "local presence". Among the new regional and linguistic extensions are:

TLD, Description (Current Launch Phase)

.公司, Chinese script for “company” (Landrush)

.网络, Chinese script for “network” (Landrush)
.بازا, Aribic script for “bazaar” (Sunrise)
.SAARLAND, for the Saarland region of Germany (Sunrise A&B)
.VEGAS, for the city of Las Vegas, Nevada (General Availability starts 15 Sept)
.HAMBURG, for the city of Hamburg, Germany (General Availability)
.HAUS, the German word for “house” (General Availability)
.COLOGNE, for the city of Cologne, Germany (General Availability)

.KOELN, for the city of Cologne, Germany (General Availability)
.BRUSSELS, for the city of Brussels, Belgium (Sunrise)
.VLAANDEREN, for the Flanders region of Belgium (Sunrise)
.WALES, for Wales in the United Kingdom (Sunrise)

.CYMRU, for Wales in the United Kingdom (Sunrise)
.QUEBEC, for the city of Quebec, Canada (Sunrise)
.BZH, for the Brittany region of France (Sunrise)
.GENT, for the city of Ghent in the Flemish region of Belgium (Sunrise)
.OKINAWA, for the city of Okinawa, Japan (Landrush)
.YOKOHAMA, for the city of Yokohama, Japan (General Availability)

Each extension above has a link to the information page on our website, Lexsynergy.com. Read all about these new geographic and linguistic extensions, then contact us for more information or to register yours.

Is Your Approach to Domains in the Kingdom United?

The United Kingdom is facing the possibility of Scotland leaving the "Kingdom" but on the domain name front is facing an influx of new generic Top Level Domains (new gTLDs) that will have or is having a direct impact on trade mark owners within the UK.

Before the April 2014, it was sufficient to have registered the domain names below (excluding the restricted TLDs such as .plc.uk and ltd.uk) BUT no longer!

• yourtrademark.co.uk
• yourtrademark.org.uk
• yourtrademark.me.uk

On 29 April 2014, .London rolled into town offering the Londoners and others the opportunity to have a localised domain name for this commercial capital. See http://www.lexsynergy.com/london for more .London information.

On 10 June 2014, .UK came ashore allowing the registration of yourtrade.uk, leaving out the co, org and me before the .uk. No panic there! If you have a registered co.uk, subject to some fancy rules, you have 5 years from the launch date to secure the matching .uk domain name. Read more about .UK at http://www.lexsynergy.com/uk.

On 15 July 2014, .Scot marched across the rolling hills, allowing all that have a connection to Scotland to register .scot domain names. Read more about .Scot at http://www.lexsynergy.com/scot.

On 1 September 2014, .Wales and .Cymru landed on the shores to create an Internet space that is Welsh without restriction. Read more about .Wales at http://www.lexsynergy.com/wales.

What do trade mark owners need to do?

Firstly, if you have not secured your trade mark or business name in the above new gTLDs the time is NOW! Rather secure your matching domain names for a few Pounds than have to deal with lawyers for many more Pounds.

Secondly, establish a procedure for the launch of new trade marks that include registrations in the above TLDs.

Get in touch if you need assistance navigating the new UK domain name landscape - support@lexsynergy.com or call us on +44 20 81331 319.