Montenegro’s new country-code domain, ‘.me’, is being marketed as a pseudo top level domain - and one that is likely to have mass appeal for individuals. Trade mark owners should, therefore, consider taking advantage of the sunrise period to register their marks as domain names for defensive purposes.
Those wishing to emphasise or reflect the presence of their brands in the Middle East might also be tempted to take advantage of the sunrise period to obtain an appropriate ‘.me’ domain name registration as 'me' is a common abbreviation for 'Middle East'.
sunrise period
The sunrise period enables organisations with prior trade mark rights to apply for priority registration of domain names that are identical to the word element of their marks.
To avoid the ‘lottery-like’ nature of some previous sunrise periods, names will not be allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis. Where more than one application is received for registration of the same name, an online auction will be held over a three day period.
The sunrise period has been divided into the following phases:
Phase 1 (1 May - 6 May 2008) – during this period, entities established in Montenegro will be able to apply on the basis of their trade mark registrations existing anywhere in the world.
Phase 2 (6 May – 20 May 2008) – this is a general sunrise period during which all owners of current registered trade marks or service marks, anywhere in the world, will be able to apply, provided applications for registration of the marks relied on were lodged prior to 28 June 2006.
Phase 3 (20 May – 6 June) – applications will not be accepted during this period; instead, the registry will validate applications filed during the first two phases referred to above.
Phase 4 (6 June – 26 June 2008) – this is a general landrush period during which anyone can apply for a ‘.me’ domain name without relying on a trade mark registration. Those with unregistered brands could, for example, make use of this period to secure appropriate ‘.me’ registrations.
Phase 5 (26 June – 17 July 2008) – applications will not be accepted during this period; instead, the registry will validate applications filed in Phase 4 above.
Phase 6 (17 July 2008 and beyond) – from 17 July, domain names will be registered on a ‘first come first served’ basis.
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Although the cost of registration during the sunrise period is relatively high, brand owners would be well advised to consider defensive registration. For those with a Middle Eastern presence, registration of a ‘.me’ domain name may, in any event, be considered to be of value.
