Client Alert - Start Spreading the News - Do You Want to Be a Part of .NYC? (Early Sunrise Application Period Ends June 20, 2014)
Back in January, we published a Client Alert on ways brand owners could help protect and leverage their brands with the launch of the new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) – that part of the domain name after the last dot – such as .clothing, .guru, .holdings, .camera, .lighting, and .photography, to name just a few. Click here to access that Client Alert.
Since then, over 150 new gTLDs have launched. Some new gTLDs are in their sunrise phase, when brand owners who recorded their trademarks in the Trademark Clearinghouse can register their brands in conjunction with a new gTLD (e.g., YourBrand.cooking) before the general public. Others are in general availability periods where anyone can register nearly any term as a domain name. Industry experts predict that over 600 new gTLDs will launch within the next three years. The Trademark Clearinghouse publishes a running list of all new gTLD launches, which can be found here.
Because many of our clients are based in or have a strong presence in New York City, we wanted to alert you to the recent launch of the .NYC domain space.
Touted as the “Ultimate New York City Address,” the .NYC domain space is intended for any brand owner that wants to showcase the value of its location online. Any business or organization with a NYC street address, and any individual with a primary residence in NYC, can register a .NYC domain name.
Owners of a registered trademark who meet this criterion and who have recorded their trademarks with the Trademark Clearinghouse can take advantage of the .NYC early sunrise application period, which continues through June 20, 2014, and register YourBrand.NYC before the general public gets a chance to apply for it.
If you have not yet recorded your trademark in the Trademark Clearinghouse, we can assist you with that process.
The .NYC domain name registry will take Landrush applications from August 4 through October 3, 2014. All applications will be processed at the close of the Landrush period. Multiple applications for the same domain name will be auctioned off at the end of this period. General availability begins October 8, 2014, after which the domain names will be awarded on a first come, first served basis.
Additional information about the .NYC domain space can be found here.
If you have any questions about acquiring a .NYC or any other new gTLD domain name, or generally protecting your brands in the new gTLDs, please contact Eric J. Shimanoff (ejs@cll.com) or your CLL attorney.
For printable version of this article, click here.