.eu domain names: Gearing up

The commission has now published a registration regulation.

Slowly, the .eu domain name plans move towards implementation: The commission has now published its Regulation 874/2004 (English: PDF, German: PDF). Some quick notes:

  • Registrations take place directly under the .eu top level domain.
  • Governments may reserve geographical and geopolitical names.
  • In a four months sunrise phase, „prior rights“ holders and public bodies can register .eu domain names before the general public can.
  • Two months before the sunrise phase starts, technical and administrative measures are published in detail.
  • In the first two months of the sunrise phase, registered national and Community trademarks and geographical indications as well as names and acronyms of public bodies can be registered as .eu domain name by the holder/public body.
  • Two months later, other „prior rights“ holders can also register .eu domain names, but only as far as they are protected under national law in the member state where they are held. This concerns unregistered trademarks, trade names, business identifiers, company names, family names, and distinctive titles of protected literary and artistic works.
  • There is an alternative dispute resolution procedure in place (similar to ICANN’s UDRP).
  • After the sunrise phase, the domain names are registered according to the „first come, first served“ principle.

Further information from the .eu registry Eurid can be expected soon. Since there are no accredited registrars yet, don’t pay anyone any money for a „pre-registration“. Registrars are only allowed to process .eu domain name applications they received after their accreditation.

By the way: .eu domain holders must be an „undertaking having its registered office, central administration or principal place of business“ within the EU, an organisation established within the EU „without prejudice to the application of national law“ or a natural person resident within the EU — that was specified in the earlier Regulation 733/2002.

Monika Ermert reports that the sunrise phase is scheduled to start this year and that domain names are supposed to cost about 10 Euro (I guess that refers to the wholesale registry-to-registrar price).