4.
NetNames News
NetNames
first to offer .info applications
~automated
.info 'Sunrise' submissions now available to trademark
holders ~
Trademark
holders are now able to submit their applications for
.info domain names through NetNames, the first UK registrar
to offer the service. The automated 'Sunrise' service
is available from today prior to domain name applications
being made available to the general public on September
12, 2001.
Applicants
can apply and pay online for the new domains at www.gtld.com.
The online service allows .info 'Sunrise' applications
to be made for 5 or 10 year registrations. Applications
for the new .biz names, including a multiple application
service, can also be made from the site.
A
recent survey by NetNames revealed that nearly three-quarters
of people interested in registering one of the seven new
generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) would be registering
.info, making it the most popular new extension. .info
is the only unrestricted new gTLD, meaning that like .com,
anybody can register it.
"The
Internet has had to wait a long time for the new extensions,
so we are very pleased that NetNames is the first UK registrar
to offer .info," said Jonathan Robinson, CEO of NetNames,
part of the NetBenefit Group. "The first stage in
the domain name application process is open to trademark
holders only, so hopefully this will cut out much of the
cybersquatting seen in the past."
Applications made to NetNames will be queued in the system
and submitted to the .info registry when this goes live
on July 25, 2001. The registry will be operated by the
Afilias consortium, of which NetNames is a member. For
the initial trade and service mark-based applications,
the mark must have had national effect prior to October
2, 2000. The following need to be submitted at the time
of application:
· The ASCII characters composing the trademark
or service mark
· The date the trademark / service mark was issued
· The country where the trademark was registered
· The trademark / service mark number
· All registrations during the Sunrise period will
be for a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 10 years
The
Sunrise period will run until August 27, 2001. NetNames
will begin accepting .info domain name applications from
the general public from September 12, 2001.
The
cost of registering a .info domain name is £60 for
2 years, £200 for five years and £400 for
ten years. In the case of an unsuccessful application,
registrants will be given a full refund, minus an administration
fee.
