A
new
opportunity will soon be available to companies looking to expand their
presence in the growing Asian marketplace.
If you are doing or planning to do business in the
Asia/Australia/
Pacific region and own a trademark registration in a qualifying
country, you
may be able to apply on a priority basis for the domain name that
corresponds
to your trademark registration. If you do not yet own a
trademark registration,
you may still be entitled to apply during a priority period based on
your
registered entity name.
Asian
Address Required
Applications
for .Asia domain names will only be
accepted from companies that have a local presence in one of the 73
qualifying
countries (“DotAsia Country”).
At least
one of the associated domain contacts (Registrant, Administrative,
Technical,
or Billing) must be a legal entity located in a DotAsia Country. If you do not have a local
presence, we can
arrange for a third party to act as a local contact in order to satisfy
this
requirement.
Overview
of Launch Phases
The
various launch phases offer priority to trademark owners, as well as an
advance
opportunity for applicants with a registered company name in a DotAsia
country. It is
important to note that the .Asia launch
differs from previous domain launches in that .Asia domains will NOT be
awarded
on a first-come first-serve basis (except during the Sunrise 1 period). If there are multiple
successful applications
during Sunrise 2 or 3, those applicants will then compete in an auction
with
the highest bidder being awarded the domain name.
The
Bidding Process
Once
verification is completed, all eligible
applicants will be notified with information about the other eligible
bidders,
including their complete WHOis information and the details of their
claimed
prior rights. Verified
applicants will
participate in an online closed auction. Each
bidder will be able
to observe each bid placed by competing applicants.
The auction will continue electronically
until there is a 24-hour period with no subsequent bid.
Launch
Phase Specifics
|
Prior to
10/9/2007 |
10/9/2007
– 10/30/2007 |
11/13/2007
– 1/15/2008 |
February 2008 |
|
Pioneer |
Sunrise 2(a) |
Sunrise 2(b) |
Landrush |
|
Sunrise 1 |
|
Sunrise 2(c) |
|
|
|
|
Sunrise 3 |
|
Partner
Pioneer Program, through October 8, 2007
The
DotAsia Organisation offers a unique program to qualified entities that
agree
to promote DotAsia. A
Partner Pioneer
(“Pioneer”) may select two .Asia domain names that
correspond to an
organization name or primary domain of their operations. Applicant must complete an
application form
with details of its planned services, promotional efforts, marketing
commitments, and operational and financial support to DotAsia, along
with a
Marketing Contribution of $10,000 and a non-refundable Administrative
Fee of
$500. This program could be worth considering for a highly desirable
trademark
with secondary meaning or a highly contested trademark.
For these types of names, a Pioneer application
could potentially be less expensive than the auction process.
Sunrise
1, Government
Bodies Only: October 9, 2007
This
is the one separate early bird phase, and it is open to owners of valid
and
issued trademarks which were applied for on or before March 16, 2004. The owner must be able to
demonstrate usage
in the relevant goods or services in the country of registration.
This
phase is open to owners of valid and existing
registered trademarks applied for on or before December 6, 2006.
In
this phase, owners of registered marks applied
for on or before December 6, 2006, may apply for a domain consisting of
the
registered mark combined with relevant words from the registration. For example, if your
registered trademark is
XYZ and your Class description includes “Entertainment
Services,” you may apply
for “XYZEntertainment.Asia.”
Applicants
in this phase must have already applied for a domain name in Sunrise
2(a) or
2(b).
This
final phase before Landrush allows companies or
organizations to register their corresponding name regardless of
trademark
registrations. Applicant
must have
registered its entity name in a DotAsia Country on or before December
6, 2006. Unlike the
above phases where documentation
is not required at the time of application, applicants under Sunrise 3
must
provide a certificate of incorporation or equivalent document at the
time of
application.
After
the Sunrise periods have passed, there will be
open registration for all applicants who can meet the local presence
requirement. During this phase, an auction process will again be used
for
domains with more than one successful application. The DotAsia
Organisation has
not yet finalized the dates for Landrush and Go Live.
Live
first-come first-serve registrations commence.
This
material is for general information purposes only, is current only as
of the
indicated date, and should not be regarded as legal advice. Providing
this
information is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship.
You
should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal
advice..