.co Top Level Domain Name Sunrise Period Ends 10 June, 2010
Jay Hines, a partner at US intellectual property attorneys Cantor Colburn LLP, has flagged a looming deadline. Jay writes:
"Colombia recently liberalized the administration of the .co country code domain name to open it up globally and streamline the registration process. Trademark owners with an interest in obtaining “domain.co” domain names that correspond to registered marks may now do so during a sunrise launch that ends on June 10, 2010. Any trademark that was registered in any country prior to July 30, 2008 is eligible to be registered in advance of the opening of general availability on July 20, 2010.
We are not at all certain how popular the .co top level domain will be under this new extension. The attraction of course is due to the fact that .Co is the abbreviation for “Company.” Whether or not you are interested in using a .co domain name, taking advantage of the sunrise period may prevent problems with third parties, perhaps from other countries, registering .co domain names identical to your registered trademarks once this category is opened up globally later this summer.
The cost for an application plus a one year annual fee is US$375 per domain name, including our fee, the application fee and a one year annual fee. In the event that two parties apply for the identical domain name during the sunrise period, you will have the choice of withdrawing the application or participating in an auction. If you withdraw at that point, you will receive a refund of US$265.
Please contact us (email Jay at Cantor Colburn, LLP) immediately if you are interested in our assistance with participating in the sunrise period."
