Domain Names - Country-Code Top-Level Domain Name Registration Developments

The rules for the registration of domain names change frequently. This is especially true of country-code top-level domains (“ccTLDs”). The following is a list of the most important ccTLD rule changes of 2005.

.in (India)
.in domain names were formerly restricted to Indian trademark holders. In January 2005, however, the government of India liberalized the rules regarding .in domain names, thereby opening the registration of domain names in the .in extension to anyone. The .in domain, along with .co.in, .net.in, .firm.in, .ind.in and .org.in, are now considered unrestricted. As the second-most populous country in the world, India is a crucial market. The lessening of restrictions for the .in extension is an important opportunity to register and protect company and brand names.

.cn (China)
As of January 17, 2005, the Chinese top-level domain, .cn, began offering internationalized domain names. Thus, domain names are now available in Chinese characters.

.pt (Portugal)
Internationalized domain names are also available in Portugal’s .pt domain, permitting the registration of domain names in Portuguese.

.hu (Hungary)
.hu domain names were formally restricted to Hungarian entities. As of March 1, 2005, all European Union entities were permitted to register .hu domains. The .hu registry continues to require a local address for the administrative contact. Nevertheless, the changes simplify the registration of .hu domains for American companies with European Union affiliates or subsidiaries.

.si (Slovenia)
The Slovenian domain registry formerly required both a Slovenian trademark and local presence. Effective March 31, 2005 the registry no longer requires a Slovenian trademark registration, although local presence is still a requirement. The local presence is defined as Slovenian commercial entities and main subsidiaries of foreign commercial entities doing business in Slovenia and registered on the Slovenian business registrar. While this liberation of requirements does not completely free the .si extension of restrictions, it nonetheless makes it more feasible for non-Slovenian companies to register a .si domain name.

.tw (Taiwan)
The Taiwan registry opened up the registration of second-level domains, such as .com.tw and .org.tw, in September 2005.

.es (Spain) Previously, .es domain names were restricted to Spanish companies or companies holding Spanish trademarks. For American companies, this often made the registration process complex and lengthy. In November of 2005, the regulations for registering domains in the .es extension were significantly relaxed, although a local administrative contact remains a requirement. Due to the previous restrictions, most foreign companies were excluded from the namespace. This is an important opportunity to register and protect company and brand names in the .es extension.

These changes are representative of the greater trend towards less restrictive ccTLD requirements. The increase in unrestricted ccTLDs, as well as the expansion of available top-level and second-level domain names will have a profound impact on how the Internet is accessed and how e-commerce is conducted through the web. Those trademark holders who do not secure corresponding domain names face significant risk of loss of local presence, lack of consistency in brand image and potential infringement by third parties.