New Internet Land Rush
The open space for domain names just expanded with the addition of two new top level internet domains: .biz for commercial operations and .info for unrestricted use. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved registry agreements for these top level domains (TLDs) on Monday, May 7, 2001. They are expected to go "live" in July, 2001. In the interim, the industry is bracing for unprecedented frenzy as registries seek to process millions of registrations in the coming weeks.
Sunrise Or Sunset?
The registries established a "sunrise" period giving trademark holders a pre-launch opportunity to protect their marks. Every domain name owner, trademark holder and on-line enterprise should consider pre-emptive action to protect their territory in the new domains.
Sunrise registrations begin soon. All registrations in the sunrise period will be processed simultaneously according to labyrinth-like registration rules. These start-up rules were designed to minimize chaos and protect against mass cybersquatting; but the rules are complex and leave room for domain piracy in the process..Biz
.Biz starts with a phased process managed by NeuLevel. Phase 1 is a pre-registration phase called the Intellectual Property (IP) Claim Service. Starting May 21, 2001, for a $90.00 fee, owners may file a claim seeking protection for existing, registered or common law trademarks and servicemarks. NeuLevel will assemble all claims in a database and notify claimants when their domain names conflict. These claims do not reserve or register the names. They only guarantee a notice of conflicting names.Phase 2 is the Domain Name Application Phase. Claimants, and everyone else, must file applications for domain names.
If an application exactly matches an IP claim, NeuLevel will issue a notice of conflict to the applicant. The applicant may withdraw the application or proceed. If the applicant does not respond, the application is deemed withdrawn.
Phase 3 is the Name Selection phase. NeuLevel will process all applications that either did not match entries in the IP Claim Database, or if there was a match, the applicant wanted to proceed. All applications will be processed randomly, regardless of the date received. Businesses may submit more than one Phase 2 application to improve their chances.
Once processing is complete, NeuLevel will provide the registrars with a list of successful and unsuccessful applications. Upon launch, claimants will be notified of the status of their claims. The registry will place all names conflicting with the IP Claim Database on a 30-day hold to allow the parties to resolve their conflicts informally or formally within a start-up dispute resolution process known as UDRP. Once the random process is complete, the .biz registry will "launch"; thereafter, companies can register .biz domain names on the usual first-come, first-served basis.
.Info
The registrar for .info, Afilias, offers a simpler sunrise period. Trademark holders may register matching domain names starting the end of June 2001 and lasting a minimum of 30 days. To qualify, sunrise registrants must own a trademark filed with the U.S. Trademark Office before October 2, 2000. The domain name must be ASCII characters identical to the text or word elements of the mark.Sunrise registrations acquire five-year terms. The application fee is not yet known. Afilias will provide a dispute resolution process to conflicting applicants for a fee of $295.
Open registration will begin two weeks after the sunrise period closes. The open registration process will be a random, algorithm-driven system pulling a queue of registrations from each ICANN-accredited registrar, and randomly selecting one registration from each queue until all of the registrars’ queues are empty.These new domains create opportunities for new entrants and new controversies. For example, domain names with .biz already exist, but are not recognized by ICANN controlled domain name resolvers. This raises interesting questions about available protections in these unfamiliar dimensions.
For further information, please the contact Kathi Finnerty or Joanna Mendoza at Livingston & Mattesich.
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