Monthly Archive for November, 2008

.DE: Provider Change Now With AuthInfo

November 28, 2008

As from December 2008, Germany Domain Registry will implement a new procedure to domain holders who want to change their provider. The main feature of this new procedure is the transmission of a password, called AuthInfo. The AuthInfo is valid exclusively for this specific action and is related to one specific domain.

For now, the new procedure with AuthInfo and the previous asynchronous procedure will coexist. The domain holder can choose which one to use.

The advantage of the AuthInfo procedure is that the communication channels are reduced to a minimum, which makes the procedure easier, quicker and safer. In addition, the exact date of a provider change can be determined in advance, so that the services related to the domain can be set up accordingly by the provider.

Two steps are required to be able to apply the procedure: first, the domain holder must request his provider to obtain an AuthInfo, which is then stored with the Registry. Then he starts a provider change with his new provider.

An AuthInfo enables a domain holder to carry out a holder change together with the provider change. This option is not available, however, if provisions to the contrary like an active DISPUTE apply.

This distinguishes the new procedure from the asynchronous one, which only provides for a separate holder change. Other domain administration processes like updating the domain data or deletions cannot be executed by means of an AuthInfo.

New Extensions for Turkey: BIZ.TR, INFO.TR and TV.TR

November 27, 2008

New domain extensions have been released for Turkey: biz.tr, info.tr and tv.tr.

They are being registered on a “first come first served” basis: it means that the first person who requests certain domain will obtain it, there is no reservation period.

These new extensions do not need documentation to be registered.

.CO Domains Available Soon

November 27, 2008

Soon it will be available a new extension: .CO. The .CO extension is perfect for either companies who wish to protect their currently registered .com domains or companies who were not able to register their company names under the .com extension for what ever reason.

This new extension will allow registrations with Spanish characters such as: á, é, and ñ and it could eventually support characters from other languages such as Portuguese, French and German, which will transform .CO domains into a more powerful and universal extension.

The registrations are set to be allocated by the Colombian Domain Authority on a First Come, First Serve basis. However, holders of third level Colombian domains (.COM.CO) will be given first priority to the registration of their domain at the second level (.CO).

With this in mind, to assure the availability of your domain under the .CO extension, you may request the .COM.CO now (if available). The registrations of .CO domains will begin in approximately 1 year.

.CN Past 13 Million Registrations

November 27, 2008

The .CN domain extension (from China) has past the 13 millionth registration this month. At end of October there were 12,915,737 registrations, and with an average of over 400,000 domain name registrations per month over the past year, will have easily past the figure now.

With well over 13 million registrations, .cn is by far the largest country code, with the former holder of the mantle of most ccTLD registrations until earlier this year, .de (Germany), having as November 15, 12,379,346 domain names registered.

In January 2008, .cn passed the ten millionth registration, in March the eleven millionth and the 12 millionth registration in June.

Of the .cn domain names, around two thirds (8,358,557 at the end of October) of the registrations were .cn names, and around one quarter (3,514,912) were .com.cn names.

China Suspends 300 Fishing Website Domain Names

November 27, 2008

By October 30, 2008, the Anti Fishing Alliance of China had suspended the domain names of more than 300 Chinese fishing websites with the help of the anti fishing system based on the .CN domain names.

Fishing websites have been threatening the Internet’s security, particularly since the second half of September when the financial crisis was expanding around the world. The rise of a large number of fishing websites seriously blocked the development of e commerce and online financial businesses. With this in mind, APAC established an anti fishing coordination mechanism, which ensures the safety and healthy development of e commerce and online financial services, and also raises the security of .CN domain names.

The Chinese Domain Registry is committed to fighting fishing websites in e commerce and online financial services, which are the sectors mostly harmed by fishing websites. Since its founding in July 2008, APAC has played an important role in clearing the Chinese Internet of miscreants.

At present, 42 Chinese and foreign companies have joined the alliance, covering such sectors as the Internet finance, securities, e commerce and online games. To date, there are more than 12 million .CN registered domain names in the world.

New .CM Domain Extensions

November 27, 2008

New domain extensions have been liberated today: COM.CM, NET.CM and CO.CM.

As from October 15, 2008 until October 31, 2008, holders of trademarks in Cameroon will have preference to apply for the correspondent domain name.

After this period, there will be a challenge stage, where all requested domains will be published and any party who believes has rights over any of those domains, may appeal.

Finally, on November 15, 2008 registrations will be opened to general public on a first come first serve basis. Applications will be handled by Cameroon Domain Authority.

.BG Lowers Requirements for Domain Registration

November 27, 2008

Bulgarian Domain Authority has extended the possibilities for domain name registration in the .bg zone, allowing registering domain names without providing evidence of the trademark ownership.

This could be an excellent opportunity for expanding domain protection, registering terms that are similar to your trademark. For example, if your trademark is Trademark and your domain is trademark.bg, you could now apply for my trademark.bg, etc.