The dawn of a new era: Sunrise period for Dot Asia top-level domain names
Steven Yeates
The Pan-Asiatic and Asian Pacific community has set out to build a stage of their own in what has fast become the economic, social and political theatre of the human race. The Internet is believed by some to have been born on 1 January 1983, and has, according to Internet World Stats, since grown to have over an estimated 1 billion users. ICANNwiki, an internet resource initiative for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), claims that there are almost a 100 million domain names registered under the .com, .net, .org, .info and .biz top-level domain names. Dot Asia top level domain names are planned to go live in March 2008. The Sunrise period for the launch of the Dot Asia Registry is the final curtain call for trade mark owners.
The Dot Asia Organisation, a non-profit organisation incorporated in Hong Kong, is the Sponsoring Organisation and Registry Operator for Dot Asia top-level domain names.
What is the Sunrise period for Dot Asia top-level domain names?
The Sunrise period for the launch of the Dot Asia domain name Registry is the period where domain names will be allocated to governments, registered trade mark owners and registered companies, organisations and other entities before the floodgates are opened for general registrations. The purpose of the Sunrise period is to ensure an orderly and equitable allocation of Dot Asia domain names to qualified parties before the domain names are awarded on a first-come-first-served basis to qualifying members of the public. The Sunrise period also serves to circumvent abusive and bad faith registrations.
How will domain names be allocated during the Sunrise period for Dot Asia top-level domain names?
Dot Asia top-level domain names will be allocated in three phases during the Sunrise period. Governments in the Dot Asia community will be allowed to activate certain reserved domain names during the first phase of the Sunrise period, which commences on 9 October 2007. A list of the reserved domain names can be accessed at the Dot Asia organisation website at
The second phase of the Sunrise period is most relevant to trade mark owners.
The second phase of the Sunrise period for Dot Asia top-level domain names
The second phase of the Sunrise period is divided into three sub phases. The first sub phase, called the Early Bird Sunrise phase (during which applications for domain names are referred to as SR2a applications), is dedicated to the award of domain names to applicants who can show that they have:
- trade marks or service marks that are registered and are in full force and effect;
- applied for their trade mark before or on 16 March 2004; and
- demonstrable use of their trade mark in the class for which it is registered.
Examples of demonstrable use of their trade mark would include samples or images of advertising, promotion, distribution, offering or selling of goods or services bearing the applicant’s registered trade mark or testimonials or evidence that the relevant sectors of the public associate the textual or word elements of the registered trade mark with the goods or services for which the mark is used by the applicant. Such usage will also have to be demonstrated in one of the countries, economies or territories where the trade mark has been registered.
The second sub phase, called the General Registered Marks Sunrise (during which applications for domain names are referred to as SR2b applications), is dedicated to the award of domain names to applicants who can show that they have:
- trade marks or service marks that are registered and are in full force and effect; and
- applied for the trade mark before or on 6 December 2006.
Evidence of use is not required for applications during the General Registered Marks Sunrise period. A domain name will, however, not be available to an applicant during the General Registered Marks Sunrise phase if an applicant for that domain name has been successfully verified during the Early Bird Sunrise phase.
The third phase, which is ancillary to the first and second phases, is for applications for an additional word or words from the applicable class title, subtitle or description of the registration for the trade mark that was applied for during the Early Bird Sunrise or General Registered Marks Sunrise sub phases, whichever is applicable.
Multiple applications for domain names are accepted during the Early Bird Sunrise and General Registered Marks Sunrise sub phases, but they will not be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis. The relevant domain name will be allocated to the successfully verified applicant where only one such an applicant exists. On the other hand, if more than one application is successfully verified, all such applicants will then be invited to bid for that particular domain name in an auction. The domain name will be allocated to the winner of the auction.
Eligibility requirement for applying for a Dot Asia domain name
Apart from what is discussed above, every domain name application must include information and statements from at least one Domain Contact that is a legal entity in the Dot Asia community. A Domain Contact is a contact, which includes a corporation, company, cooperative, partnership, trust, association, society or natural person, that is associated with a domain registration. Four types of Domain Contacts are accepted when applying for a domain name, namely a Registrant Contact, Administrative Contact, Technical Contact and Billing Contact. The Dot Asia community includes all territories within the boundaries defined in ICANN’s designated geographic allocations document that can be accessed at
Dispute resolution procedures
The Dot Asia Organisation is to adopt both the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) and the Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy (CEDRP) standards for ICANN registries to resolve and discourage abusive registrations. The function of the UDRP is to regulate disputes between domain name registrants and other parties, over the registrant’s registration and use of a domain name. The UDRP has been adopted by all accredited domain name registrars for domain names within the .com, .net and .org top level domain names. UDRP dispute resolution procedures are applied where a domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trade mark or service mark in which a complainant has rights, where the registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name and where the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith. ICANN will cancel, transfer or otherwise make changes to domain name registrations in the appropriate circumstances.
Why register a Dot Asia Domain name, apart from trade purposes?
The majority of domain name disputes centre on so-called cybersquatting or typosquatting. Cybersquatting refers to the situation where a domain name is registered which consists of a trade mark of another person, with the intent of selling that domain name back to the owner of the trade mark at a grossly inflated price. Typosquatting is generally understood as where a person registers a domain name consisting of common spelling mistakes, typing errors, the pleural versus the singular form and vice versa of, most often, highly trafficked web sites. Typosquatting could also involve the registration of a website with domain name identical to that of a relatively highly trafficked website, but with a different top level domain name.
The launch of the Dot Asia Registry sets the scene for acts of trade mark infringement. The registration of the appropriate Dot Asia domain name may save trade mark owners from falling victim to cybersquatting, typosquatting and trade mark infringement in all manners and forms. Trade mark owners would be well advised to consider applying for the appropriate Dot Asia domain name before the final curtain.
Theuns van de Merwe
Candidate Attorney
theuns-v@adamsadams.co.za
Contact Person
- Steven Yeates
- Trade Mark Attorney
- Pretoria
- +27 (0) 12 481 1527