DotAsia, the organization in charge of operating the .asia top level domain (TLD), is asking registrars to comment on its proposals for handling the launch, which includes a plan to hold auctions for domain names where more than one applicant has applied for the name.
The documents include a draft outline of the registry's sunrise policies, a summary of the new TLD and the policy dealing with eligibility requirements.
To be eligible for a .asia domain, at least one of the domain contacts associated with the domain name must be a legal entity within the .Asia community. The .asia domain will be open to 73 countries in the Asia/Australia/Pacific region as defined by ICANN. This includes Israel and the rest of the Middle East but excludes Russia.
Although still drafts, Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia, indicated that significant changes to the document were unlikely.
The sunrise period for the launch is divided into three sections:
During pre-sunrise and sunrise one, governments and government-assigned bodies in the region can apply for and register domain names relevant to the respective government.
Sunrise two is open to owners of registered trade marks and service marks and is split into three parts. SR2A is open for well-established marks applied for before March 16 2004. The applicant will also need to prove use of the mark in the class registered. SR2b is open for general registered marks applied for before December 6 2006. SR2c provides an opportunity for applicants who have already applied to extend their protection by registering a domain including a relevant word in the class of the corresponding mark.
Sunrise three allows organizations that are registered in the .asia area to apply for a domain name, though they must produce supporting documentation such as an extract from a companies register or a certificate of incorporation.
This could cause problems for legitimate trade mark owners because of the threat of so-called shadow companies registering bad-faith domain names. A shadow company is one whose registered name includes a trade mark belonging to another company which has been incorporated in bad faith. A number of these have been set up in Hong Kong and used as a front for counterfeiting in mainland China.
During the landrush period any entity that can prove local presence can apply. The registry will then go live. All applications will be handled by an as yet unconfirmed verification provider.
The dates for this process have yet to be confirmed, though Chung told MIP Week that DotAsia has already sent out a list of suggested names to governments in the region and is asking for a response by May this year. Sunrise two and three will take place from September to December this year, and landrush is scheduled for February 2008.
Chung emphasized that DotAsia wanted to avoid some of the problems associated with the launch of the .eu registry. He highlighted greater communication with registrars and allowing more electronic filing of documents as two key improvements.
The initial cut-off date for owners of registered trade marks for sunrise two is aimed at preventing a similar situation to the one that took place in Europe, when .eu registry EURid received last minute applications for domain names from holders of marks granted by jurisdictions with simplified requirements, such as Benelux.
During sunrise two and three all applications received within the time limit will be deemed to have been made at the same time. If there are two or more verified applications for the same domain, DotAsia will hold an auction. Before the auction, companies will be allowed to find out who the other bidders are and can formulate a strategy accordingly.
The auctions are intended to avoid the problems encountered with the first come, first served system operated by .eu, which was "more like a lottery system," according to Bruce Tonkin, chief technology officer for domain name registrar Melbourne IT and chairman of the Generic Names Supporting Organization at ICANN.
Tonkin said he prefers the auction system because "those who want it will pay" and it may work out cheaper for companies than paying multiple registrars to get to the head of the registration queue, as has been the case in other domain name launches. He argued that companies that have made the effort to register a particular domain are more likely to use it and help to develop its popularity.
Any surplus money from these auctions will be invested by DotAsia in what it calls "socio-technological advancement initiatives relevant to the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific community".
The arrival of .asia follows the recent launch of .eu and .mobi and some IP owners are questioning the need for another domain name. Gabriela Kennedy, IP partner for Lovells in Hong Kong, told MIP Week that "there are already a lot of sceptics". Kennedy questioned whether companies will accept an auction system that could force them to pay a lot of money for a registration and said she is unsure whether DotAsia will be able to cope with the vast number of applications and disputes that could come from 73 countries.
It is unclear yet how popular .asia will prove as a domain name. Chung argued that Asia is "a well-defined concept," and thus the domain is guaranteed to succeed. Tonkin said that large companies entering big markets such as India or China will want to use a country domain, but may then use .asia as they expand across the region into smaller countries. The important question is "whether .asia will resonate for companies that working in the region," he said.
