Indian Government Plans Major Push for .BHARAT

 The Indian government is planning a big push for the Hindi script TLD .bharat when it launches in either late 2016 or early 2017. To push the TLD, every .in domain registered will get a complimentary .bharat domain for one year. The government believes that part of their plans to make the internet more widely available in India is to make web addresses and email addresses available in local languages.

“We hope that by giving ‘.bharat’ as complimentary Web address, it may encourage entities to experiment and develop content in local languages, including e-mail addresses,” the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) CEO Rajiv Bansal told the Press Trust of India.

Sunrise Period for Short .AT Domains Commenced 29 August

 

The Austrian registry, nic.at, launched the Sunrise period for one and two character .at domain names on 29 August 2016. The Sunrise period is for trademark holders only and applications can be made until 23 September 2016.

Domain names with more than one eligible applicant will be allocated via a public auction, through Sedo.com, commencing on 7 November 2016. All domains still available after the Sunrise phase and public auction will be released to the public on a first-come, first-served basis on 6 December 2016.

“It is a good time to launch the short domains,” Richard Wein, nic.at General Manager, told Lexsynergy. “Many European registries are currently opening up their namespace for short domains, and many of the new top-level domains have supported single character domains from the outset. We have been monitoring developments and decided to follow suit, in consultation with the Austrian internet community and our domain name council. Besides being shorter, we expect trademark owners to profit most from the short domains. They can bring their branding into line across all communication channels and sharpen the profile of their brand. For users, short domains are always easier to remember. And by the way, it is always good for a ccTLD like .at to bring something new into the market.”

Interest to date has been positive with several trademark holders interested such as Volkswagen and telecommunications company 3.

Wein added, “Registrars and Trademark lawyers start asking us detailed questions about the procedures, so we suppose that the industry waits in the wings. Sedo is already eager to communicate the list of domains for auction to their customers, especially outside of Austria like US and China. We’ve also seen an increasing interest from the press and marketing communities.”

Uniregistry Will Release 1,000,000 Previously Reserved Domains

On 27 September 2016, Uniregistry will release over 1,000,000 previously reserved premium names. This release will include valuable keywords, two, three and four-character names and names from ICANN's Names Collision program.

This release includes the following extensions: .audio, .blackfriday, .christmas, .click, .diet, .flowers, .gift, .guitars, .help, .hiphop, .hosting, .juegos, .link, .lol, .photo, .pics, .property, .sexy and .tattoo.

To find out which domains are planned for release, email us at support@lexsynergy.com.

After 20 Years, U.S. Government Ready To Hand Over DNS Stewardship to Private Sector

It has taken almost two decades, but the U.S. Government is ready to transition their stewardship role for the domain name system’s (DNS) technical functions, known as the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) functions, to the private sector. Throughout this period the U.S. government has always had the final say on how the DNS is controlled.

The move, endorsed by the U.S. President Barack Obama but resisted by many Republicans, follows 18 years of work by the global internet multi-stakeholder community and meets criteria the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) outlined in 2014.

ICANN was established in 1998 with, among other roles, the task of assigning the operators of top-level domains (TLDs) and managing internet number resources but the NTIA, part of the Department of Commerce, could always have the final say.

On 1 October 2016, ICANN will be handed what are sometimes referred to as the “keys to the internet” and although ICANN will still be headquartered in Los Angeles, oversight will transfer to the global stakeholder community.

“The internet’s multistakeholder community has risen to the challenge we gave them to develop a transition proposal that would ensure the Internet’s domain name system will continue to operate as seamlessly as it currently does,” said Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling. “The plan developed by the community will strengthen the multistakeholder approach that has helped the Internet to grow and thrive, while maintaining the stability, security, and openness that users across the globe depend on today.”

.BANK and .INSURANCE 1 and 2 Character Domain Release

fTLD Registry Services have announced the release of single-character and two-letter domain names within .bank and .insurance. These domains will become available on the following dates on a first come, first served basis:

.BANK - 15 September 2016 16:00 UTC
.INSURANCE - 6 October 2016 16:00 UTC

These domains will be released at a premium price of £2450 / $2950 / €2600 / R43,382

If you are interested in registering one of these premium .BANK or .INSURANCE domains email us at support@lexsynergy.com.

.商标 Domain Created To Protect Trademarks And Fight Counterfeiting

 

A Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) aimed at protecting trademarks, fighting counterfeits and fighting cybersquatting? Yes, really. One new gTLD has introduced an innovative solution than aims to do just that, and 7,000+ brands have already registered including: Microsoft, Google, Apple, Lacoste, Rolex, BMW, Gucci, Chanel, Amazon, Starbucks, Toyota, Watsons, ASUS and many others.

Increasingly, many Chinese consumers have both the means and the desire to purchase genuine branded products. Unfortunately, finding authentic brands online in China is very challenging.

.商标 (which translates to .trademark) was created as an online trademark symbol, to help brands establish trusted websites, where Chinese consumers can easily find authentic brands online. 

How Does .商标 Protect and Promote Trademark Rights?
The .商标 domain extension is the world’s first to require a trademark. All registrants of .商标 domains must provide proof of their registered trademark, or trademark application.

Their first-of-its-kind domain registration requirements are aimed at ensuring that all .商标 domains are registered by legitimate trademark holders, and accurately reflect their trademarks.

Why Do Trademark Holders Need “.商标?
Verified - Since all .商标 domains are manually verified by the .商标 Domain Registry’s registration assurance team, this enables consumers to identify your official brand website.

Localized - .商标 is recognized and trusted online symbol for the world’s trademarks in China. Chinese consumers do not know what the “®” or “™” symbols mean, but they do know “商标” means “trademark”. Furthermore, Chinese characters domains are Chinese user friendly, and easier to remember.

Trusted - Consumers can trust .商标 websites. The rapid growth in the Chinese online economy has led to many new threats to intellectual property, making it difficult for brands to provide consumers a trusted, secure online experience. A .商标 web address makes it easy for Chinese consumers to find authentic brands online. 

How Does a Trademark Holder Register .商标 Domains?
.商标 domain names can be registered directly through Lexsynergy. We will collect and submit the required trademark information to the registry. The .商标 Domain Registry’s registration assurance team manually validates and verifies each domain registration for authenticity and accuracy before it can go live.

The .商标 Domain Registry recognizes trademarks from over 200 jurisdictions worldwide and enables global trademark owners to register domain names in Roman characters (e.g. English), as well as Simplified and Traditional Chinese characters.

The .商标 Registry asserts that, “all brands currently doing business in China, and those who plans to do business there, should strongly consider registering .商标 domains for each of their core brands.”

If you are interested in registering a .商标 domain, or have questions, please contact us at support@lexsynergy.com.

Lexsynergy's Brexit Webinar Recording

The recent referendum in the UK has brought uncertainty and questions about its effect on local and global economies, trade, business, travel, etc. Lexsynergy's August webinar focused on how Brexit may affect our client's domain management and online brand protection strategies.

If you missed our latest webinar, you can watch a recording on our YouTube channel.