.EU Domains Open for General Registration

February 2006

Hostway Corporation is warning companies that they only have two months until the floodgates for general registration of .eu domains open on the 7th of April.

This follows the opening of the second sunrise period for the new .eu domain name on the 7th of February. The second sunrise period allows all those previously eligible to register for the dot eu domain name, and now also allows other claimants with a valid stake to a name to register, for example, family names. Companies and other individuals which do not act to protect their brand identity before the 7th of April risk losing the domain name to other companies or cybersquatters.

According to Hostway, the dot eu domain name is only available to companies or people resident within the European Community, and the first sunrise period limited registrations to public bodies, trademarks and geographical areas. These categories have now broadened to allow more companies and individuals to register their interest. During the second sunrise period, company names, business identifiers, the names of books or other artistic works, unregistered trade marks, trade names and family names can be applied for. However, as the largest top level domain name release for several years, companies are faced with both an opportunity and a challenge. Failure to register for the name could mean loss of corporate pan-European identity, or worse still third parties undermining company trademarks and expensive re-acquisitions of the domain name later on.