Next year may see the biggest new domain name registration process
to date, with the launch of the ".eu" top-level domain. It is being
introduced by the European Commission (EC) in 2003 to encourage
organisations within the EU to create a virtual single European
marketplace.
Recent high-profile instances of cybersquatting and the placing of
derogatory sites such as introducingmonday.co.uk, have highlighted
the vital role that domain names play as the virtual gateway to a
company's brand.
The introduction of the .eu domain will undoubtedly provide another
opportunity for cybersquatters, and competitors in business, to
capitalise on companies that have failed to prepare for its
introduction.
Practical steps
So what practical steps should you be
taking to protect your company's online intellectual property? And
how can you make sure that the process of registering .eu domain
names is as smooth as possible? The first step should be to obtain
a comprehensive picture of your company's existing online assets.
There was a boom in domain name registrations at the turn of the
millennium, with many companies registering almost every possible
variant of their names, as well as actual and prospective products.
Usually these were not registered through a company officer, but by
different employees across the organisation, or even outside
contractors.
Crucially, most companies did not have, and still do not have, a
policy in place to handle domain registrations, leaving larger
organisations and brand owners with hundreds of domain names to
manage.
Selecting for .eu
Once you have established which
domain names your company holds, you will then need to decide which
ones should be registered under the .eu suffix.
If your company has a large number of domain names this decision
will probably require input from different parts of the business,
such as marketing, product management and legal representatives, in
order to ensure that the most important domains are given priority
during the registration process.
Trademark issues
The process of registering domains could prove to be particularly
vexatious for registered trademark owners. The root of the problem
is the lack of a central trademark database.
Most countries have a directory of registered trademarks, but
because domain names are global and there is no worldwide list that
registrars can consult, this can make it extremely difficult to
resolve trademark disputes.
Affilias, the organisation which managed the introduction of .info
in 2001, had to resolve more than 15,000 cases where trademark
owners claimed the same site address. This problem could prove to
be particularly
difficult as companies with similar trademarks in different
countries in Europe vie for the rights to a domain name.
An important preparatory step should be to determine that the
trademark registrations your company holds are up-to-date and
establish which are also held in other European countries.
Manager needed
The EC is currently searching for an
organisation to manage the introduction of the new suffix. Before
.eu goes live the registry operator will have to develop policies
for the registration process and put them in place.
However, the experience from the introduction of previous domain
name suffixes such as .info and .biz shows that deadlines and rules
governing registrations can change at short notice. It is therefore
vital that the individual within the company responsible for
managing domain names is aware of the latest news.
Luckily there are a number of respected e-newsletters, such as
N3Lite and Moreover Domain News, which will keep readers fully
informed of the latest developments.
What to do about .eu- Make sure you have an up to date domain registration
policy
- Check out your online assets - what names do you already have
registered?
- Consider which domains you already own need to be registered as
.eu - consult fully with the business on this
- Find out about the international status of your trademarks and
take steps to protect the appropriate domains
- Remember to include future products in the
registrations.
Jonathan Robinson is director of business development at
NetNames. E-mail: jonathan.robinson @netnames.com, or go to
www.netnames.com/