Lexsynergy to Launch Webinar Series Dedicated to New Domain Name Extensions

As new extensions launch, brand owners need to know the facts or risk costly infringements to their intellectual property.

Global domain name management and online brand protection specialists Lexsynergy Limited today announced the launch of a monthly webinar series designed to inform and update brand owners on new domain name extensions.

“We are excited to launch this new webinar series,” said Daniel Greenberg, founder and Director of Lexsynergy Limited. “As an ICANN-accredited registrar focused on corporate brand protection, Lexsynergy understands the importance of staying current in the new domain name extension marketplace."

In response to global demand for new domain name extensions beyond the familiar .com, .org and .de, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) embarked on an historic initiative to bring hundreds of new extensions to the Internet community. These new domain name extensions, also referred to as “new top level domains” (nTLDs) were approved by the ICANN Board of Directors on 20 June 2012 during a public meeting in Singapore.

"Since October of 2013, more than 400 new extensions have been assigned and new extensions are being delegated every week. As such, brand owners must be vigilant defending their marks online,” said Mr. Greenberg. “Our primary goal in conducting these webinars is to ‘demystify’ new TLDs for brand owners, who may not even know these extensions are available.”

Mr. Greenberg also says there are substantial risks for brand owners in the nTLD marketplace.

“Certain mechanisms are in place to provide trademark holders with preemptive rights in every new extension, but brand owners must be proactive and know their rights, or risk costly domain name recovery processes. At Lexsynergy we believe that if you don’t know the risks, you’re already at risk, which is why we are so focused on informing brand owners internationally about nTLDs.”

Lexsynergy’s monthly webinar series will launch on 3 November 2014 and be held on the first Monday of each month onward.

Interested parties may register for the introductory webinar, “New Domain Names, Familiar Risks,” at https://lexsynergy.webex.com/lexsynergy/j.php?ED=317124882&RG=1&UID=1959504552&RT=MTgjNw%3D%3D or by email to info@lexsynergy.com.

Private individuals can now check which .vlaanderen and .brussels domain names they can register

The .vlaanderen and .brussels extensions will launch in five phases. After the phases for trademark holders, government institutions, businesses and organisations, starting on Thursday 13 November 2014 (10:00 CET) and running until 15 December 2014 (10:00 CET), private individuals will be able to submit an application for a .vlaanderen or .brussels domain name based on their name. Applicants can now take advantage of an eID wizard that will take you through the entire registration process.

All you need to register a .vlaanderen or .brussels domain name is a valid Belgian eID card and an eID card-reader. Then, using the eID wizard at the DNS Belgium website, you can apply for a .vlaanderen or .brussels domain name that corresponds with:

• your family name
• your family name and first name
• your first name and family name
• your family name and the first letter of your first name
• the first letter of your first name and your full family name

During this phase, for example, Jan Vandam can apply for: vandam.vlaanderen, vandamjan.vlaanderen, janvandam.vlaanderen, vandamj.vlaanderen and jvandam.vlaanderen. The .brussels variants can also be applied for in the same way.

Free eID card-reader  

The extension operator, DNS Belgium, is also giving 1000 card-readers away via the DNS Belgium website. You can request yours by completing the form at www.dnsbelgium.be/en/eid.

Demo phase

From 13 October to 12 November inclusive, using a valid Belgian eID card and the eID card-reader, you can check to see whether your computer has the right settings so that when this phase actually begins on 13 November, you can use the eID wizard to scan the details from your identity card. The eID wizard during the demo phase is to be found on www.dnsbelgium.be/en/eid.

Once your settings have been tested and are correct, you can view the list of domain names based on your name that you can apply for and decide which one(s) you would like to reserve from 13 November onwards. 

Actual registration 

To be able to actually reserve a domain name from 13 November, you will need to go through the following steps with the eID wizard:

• Go to the eID wizard at the DNS Belgium website (www.dnsbelgium.be)
• Connect the card-reader to your PC and insert your eID into the device. Only your first name and last name will be scanned.
• You will see a list of the domain names that you can apply for, based on your name. You can tick on one or more of the options and then reserve them.
• You will receive confirmation of your reservation by e-mail. You will also receive a reservation code for each domain name you reserve. You need to give this code within 7 days to your registrar (the accredited seller of domain names) so that the domain names you are requesting can be effectively registered.

For more information about vlaanderen and .brussels, visit lexsynergy.com/vlaanderen and lexsynergy.com/brussels.

Lexsynergy. Our Domain is Domains™

ccTLDs Growth Outstrips Legacy gTLDs: CENTR Report

The growth rate for the 248 country code domain name extensions such as .ca, .ke and .io, (commonly referred to as ccTLDs) around the world was higher than that for the 21 legacy generic domain name extensions such as .com, .net, and .tel (commonly referred to as gTLDs) in the three months to the end of August according to a CENTR DomainWire report.

The report shows the number of domains registered across all ccTLDs was 129,388,192, an increase of 1.7 percent over the three months, not including internationalised domain ccTLDs, which themselves grew by the even higher rate of 2.9 percent to 1,244,863. Meanwhile the 21 legacy gTLDs saw growth of 0.3 percent to 148,807,739.

Lexsynergy has an excellent selection of country-code domain name extensions available to register. Find many of them as http://www.lexsynergy.com/domain-availability-checker, or for a complete list of our availble domains, log into your Lexsynergy account. Don't have an account with us? Sign up today at https://www.lexsynergy.com/register.

The New Power of .Attorney from Lexsynergy

The new .ATTORNEY and .LAWYER domain name extensions have just entered the General Availability phase, meaning members of the legal community can now get a new, highly relevant domain name at regular prices!

.ATTORNEY and .LAWYER are "regulated extensions" available exclusively to those who meet eligibility requirements.

What does that mean for you? It means if you are eligible, your legal-oriented presence on the Internet won't be thought of alongside the baker across town using a .com, or the casino using .vegas. With these new domain names comes the opportunity to definitively brand yourself as a member of the legal community!

For more information about the regulations and policies for these extensions, please visit our informational pages for .ATTORNEY and .LAWYER today.

Or contact Lexsynergy today and we'll be glad to help!

Update to .网络"(.xn--io0a7i) Domain Name Registration Policies

According to the operator of the .网络"(.xn--io0a7i) domain name registry, the traditional Chinese versions of .网络 domain names will no longer be offered starting 1 July, 2014.

网络 means "network" in simplified Chinese.

Registrants may retain domain names which end with the ".网络"(.xn--io0a7i) extension in traditional Chinese that were offered prior to 1st July, 2014. However, the registry operator will no longer provide fees renewal service to them.

To secure your 网络 domain name in simplified Chinese today, please visit http://www.lexsynergy.com/tlds/xn--io0a7i.

For additional information about this policy change, please contact Lexsynergy.

.GLOBAL - A Boarderless Strategy

For a limited time, Lexsynergy is offering our valued clients one free domain name renewal on .com, .net and .org domain names with the purchase of a new .GLOBAL domain name!*

.GLOBAL is a perfect domain name extension with which to promote any business, organization or initiative throughout the world. Like .com, .GLOBAL is open and non restricted, meaning there are no local presence requirements and no eligibility hoops to jump through. Find the perfect domain name, register, and go global!

Since entering General Availability in mid-September 2014, .GLOBAL has earned over 3,000 registrations, which means there are many high quality domain names still available!

To secure your new .GLOBAL domain name and get one free year of .com, .net or .org, follow these simple steps:

Log into your Lexsynergy account
Register a new .GLOBAL domain name
Renew one .com, .net or .org domain name

Once your order is complete, Lexsynergy will credit your account for the renewal!

If you have any questions about this limited time offer, contact us.

Lexsynergy. Our Domain is Domains™

Offer ends 15 April 2015.

*Restrictions may apply. Limit one free year of renewal year per .GLOBAL name registered. Discount will be applied as an account credit equal to the one year renewal rate for the chosen domain name.

The .GQ Domain Name Extension Relaunching!

Starting 1 October, 2014, the .GQ domain name registry for Equatorial Guinea, has relaunched and is currently open for new trade mark applications!

Equatorial Guinea is located on the western coast of Africa and is one of sub-Sahara’s largest oil producers. The .GQ country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) has been dormant for some time, but its operators are relaunching the namespace without restriction, to the international community.

   Download a copy of Lexsynergy's .GQ Relaunch Brochure now!

.GQ will relaunch in three phases: Sunrise, Landrush and General Availability.

Sunrise: 1 October 2014 - 31 October 2014
Landrush: 1 November 2014 - 30 November 2014
General Availability: 1 December 2014 - onward

Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) will be available during General Availability in Russian and Simplified Chinese character sets only.

For complete launch details, including trade mark requirements, prices and how to secure premium one- two- and three-character domain names in .GQ, please visit http://www.lexsynergy.com//tlds/gq.