Introduction
Launch process
Implications for trademark owners
While it has been possible to register one or two-character domain names (short domains) under several top-level domains (TLDs) for quite some time (eg, the German '.de' TLD, following the 2009 'vw.de' judgment), the Austrian registry operator nic.at has hitherto not delegated short domains under the TLD '.at'. Until recently, the minimum length of domain names under the '.at' top-level domain was three characters.
On August 29 2016 nic.at initiated the launch process for approximately 5,000 short domains under the TLD '.at' (eg, 'a1.at', 'ö3.at', 'hm.at', 'vw.at' and 'f.at').
In order to take the legitimate interests of trademark owners into consideration, the domains will be released in phases in order to grant trademark owners a head start. During the sunrise period (August 29 2016 to September 23 2016), only owners of trademarks enjoying protection in Austria (or their authorised agents) can request delegation of short domains. This option applies only for registered trademarks that already enjoyed protection in Austria on July 1 2015 (which includes EU trademarks and international registrations designating Austria or the European Union). Trademark applications pending on this date are insufficient. The trademark must be identical to the domain applied for or must contain a one or two-character combination with distinctive character.
If there is only one valid sunrise application for a certain short domain, the domain will be granted to the respective applicant. If there are two or more valid applications, an auction among the respective applicants will take place (October 10 2016 to October 21 2016).
As of November 7 2016 short domains that have not been delegated in the sunrise period will be subject to a public auction process. As of December 6 2016, the remaining short domains will be delegated on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Implications for trademark owners
Owners of trademarks consisting of one or two characters (eg, abbreviations) – in particular, those active on the Austrian market – should consider requesting delegation of their short trademarks as domains under the '.at' TLD in order to use them or at least prevent unauthorised third parties (domain grabbers) from taking advantage of their marks.
By taking advantage of the opportunity to apply early (ie, within the sunrise period), trademark owners can (or can at least try to, as there may be other trademark owners with eligible trademarks in different business areas) secure the respective short domain before it becomes available to the general public and therefore vulnerable to cybersquatting.
If trademark owners decide against applying for a short domain within the sunrise period (or if they have no eligible trademark registration), they should stay alert in order to obtain relevant short domains after the sunrise period or to consider taking legal steps against an unauthorised registrant of a respective short domain name.
In this respect, notably, Austria has no Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution-like dispute resolution mechanism under the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) '.at'. Thus, any dispute would have to be resolved in ordinary civil court proceedings. According to existing Austrian case law, only cancellation, and not transfer of an infringing domain name, can be requested.
Further information on the release of short domain names under the ccTLD '.at' can be found on the Austrian registry operator's website.
For further information on this topic please contact Michael Woller or Adolf Zemann at Schoenherr by telephone (+43 1 5343 70) or email ([email protected] or [email protected]). The Schoenherr website can be accessed at www.schoenherr.eu.