Nominet announced on 2 November that applications for the previously reserved short .uk domains will open on 1 December 2010, with a Registered Rights Sunrise phase for trade mark holders.
The ‘Sunrise’ period starts at midday. Trade mark rights holders have until midday on 17 January 2011 to apply for a domain that matches their trade mark. Evidence of using the trade mark in the UK prior to 1 January 2008 will be required.
If there is more than one verified application, domains will be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with proceeds going to the Nominet Trust, an independently run charity focused on increasing access, safety and education on Internet issues.
Any domains still available will then go forward to a second sunrise period, when the rights qualification will be extended to unregistered rights holders. Any remaining domains will proceed to a ‘landrush’ period in which anyone can participate. Nominet will make further announcements regarding these stages in due course.
A ‘sunrise whois’ tool will be available from 1 December 2010, which can be used to check on the status of available domains. Applicants will be able to monitor the progress of their applications. All applications and supporting evidence will be published for total transparency.
For more information, visit www.nominet.org.uk/go/shortdomains
