All about the .EU thanks to Domaine.fr accreditation!

The end of the suspense! After years of preparation, negotiations, tons of information- some times contradictory! – and of false beginnings, the .EU, the European extension wanted by the Commission and leaded by Internet professionals is finally there… Or almost! The announced «Sunrise» period is of course, the time for the trade mark owners of avoiding their fraudulent using, but it is also an excellent «general repetition» for a better understanding about the norms that regulate this new extension.

The Dominion. Fr, one of the first French Registrars accredited by EurID to the .EU tell you all that is necessary for you to know, without producing fear!

I. The Registrars As the majority of European Registries, EurID, the authority of .EU registry won’t take action to the «direct» registry of names. The person or company that wants to register a .EU must go through an intermediate, the Registrar  , who will finally send the application to the Registry.

The confidence intermediate between you – the Registrant – and the Registry, which is the Registrar   in charge of the registering procedure and will have the purpose of protecting the investment of your mark or your copy right possessions. It is inside this spirit where Domaine.fr asked, and was one of the first European Registrars that got the accreditation for the .EU.

1/ The obligations of Registrars from .EU • To adjust to the Regulation established by the European Commission (CE 874/2004). • To guarantee advice, commercial information and technical support in, at less, one of the official European languages.

• To guarantee that they authorize the Registrant, the using of domain names in .EU according to the Regulation CE 874/2004 :

• The first come, is considered the first.

• Registry in the level one (« www.Domaine.EU »)

• Sworn declaration according which, the registry isn’t done to prejudice a third person.

• To perform the character of inter-phase and make easier the circulation of information between the EurID and the Registrant.

• To give the access to Who is service which allows the verification of the registering statute of an .EU domain name.

• To respect the European laws about the circulation of Personal Data.

II. The Sunrise Period

1/ The sunrise period, what is it?

It isn’t a secret for anybody, domain names have a market value: from more than ten years, the «cyber squatting» cases were multiplied and, far of being exhausted, the phenomenon is more and more bigger and it is entailed with the «professionalism» of fraud : the time when a «sponger» registered McDonalds.com for taking some dollars is in the past, it left place to the masses registering of several ten of domain names in a certain extension and in a very short time. The recent and relative opening of .Fr was the time when you could verify the liveliness of the problem, we bet .EU will provoke per se envy.

To allow the protection of companies, EurID, the .EU registry, took a time to establish a «Sunrise Period» (it means the period before the .EU «light» the whole market) to anticipate in maximum the problem. Concretely, since .EU will be managed according with the principle that goes « the first come, first served » (like .com), the «Sunrise» changes the norm for a certain period, allowing to the previous right owners on marks they are going to register, to do this registry in .EU before others. The challenge that comes into action is obviously very important for the companies. They must worry very soon about the registering of their names by an accredited Registrar  . Domaine.fr congratulates itself because it can guarantee a Sunrise Period in a more effective way than it is possible, according with the norms taken by EurID Registry.

2/ The Sunrise Period, to who and what for?

Exceptional situation, the Sunrise Period is only referring to a limited categories of protagonists. According with the EurID, they are referring to:

• Companies that have their social address, Central Administration, or main

activity center inside the European Community.

• The Established Organizations inside the European Community, with out prejudice about the application of national law.

• Physical person: with origin in the European Community.

Of course, the Sunrise Period hasn’t taken advance of this opportunity to register anything, the total opening of the registry will have to do immediately. From now, the names that can be registered are limited by EurID and must do in two phases, each one with a month long.

During the first phase the titular or representatives will be able to register:

• The name of public European organizations, with all letters.

• The acronyms that re-takes the name of public organizations.

• In some cases, the territory ruled by a public organization.

• The marks named national and communitarian. In the second phase, they will be able to register besides

• Social Denominations

• Identified professional

• Titles of protected plays: literary or artistic.

• No registered marks.

• Commercial names.

Some elements in this inventory are unknown into the French Laws, but the list is by will very extent to be applied on the whole Member States. On the other hand, it is possible to consider, in theory, a specific right that still EurId didn’t recognize in a Member State: it is enough you give a description of the right just as a written proof establishing that the titular is the company or the person that wants the benefit.

This formalism is applied, on the other hand, during all the Sunrise Period: in order to benefit the Registrant, you must put again the written proof of your right to register the character chain in this matter in the accredited Registrar   (Domaine.fr, for example). It can be about a proof on a mark deposited in the OMPI, for example, or a K-Bis summary.

3/ The Sunrise Period, how?

• The application for the Sunrise Period is done throughout an accredited Registrar  - for example, Domaine.fr – which receives the documents that certify the Registrant “fatherhood” on the domain name.

• Attention, if a society or a fellow can present an application more than once - for example if the domain name you must protect in .Eu is registered both by the company and its firm – they will take into account only one application.

• On the other hand, if two Registrants have rights over the same word – an homonymous, for example- is the principle that goes the first come, first served, the one they will apply. It is necessary that you go quickly!

• The good marching of the Sunrise period will be in charge of a Validation Agent designed by EurID.

• At least, if the application is retained by EurID in the frame of the Sunrise Period, the supplementary expenses must be paid by the Registrant.

The Registrant has disposed 40 days to present the documents that prove the validity of its registry for the Sunrise Period. After this term, if the demand hasn’t been opposed by anyone, the name is given. In return, if the Registrant didn’t submit the correct documents, or if the authority didn’t recognize them in the validation process, the application from the Registrant two- according to the order that goes « the first come, first served » - is the one will be taken into account in the proper moment.

If you think the application was given by mistake, you will be able to use the Alternative Resolution of Lawsuit established by EurID: an independent arbitral court will be in charge of the pronunciation a posteriori over a name attribution.

Prepare quickly your Name Lists (lists of domain names) to reserve Domaine.fr

JCV & SB