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Domain names: AFNIC is about to launch the procedure for registering domain names consisting of one or two characters in the «.fr» tld
Article | 27/11/14 | 5 min. |
Very shortly, it will finally be possible to register short domain names (consisting of 1 or 2 characters). Such domain names have been eagerly awaited by companies that are looking to enhance their online image.
As announced last January (“Domain names: towards the opening of a registration procedure of .fr domain names with one or two characters”, by V. Dahan), the registration procedure pertaining to these specific domain names was to be implemented by AFNIC1 (Association française pour le nommage Internet en coopération) by the end of 2014.
Promise kept: AFNIC has recently announced that the official opening of these domain names would take place on December 8, 2014, according to a schedule consisting of 3 different phases.
The first phase, called “sunrise” (from 12/08/2014 to 02/09/2015), will allow rights holders to apply for the registration of domain names with 1 or 2 characters corresponding to their trademarks (French, Community or international trademarks designating France, provided that they have been registered before July 9, 2012), business names, company names, trade names or any other rights attached to companies created before July 9, 2012. Local authorities may also apply for registrations during this phase. Two clarifications should be made concerning this phase:
- First, in order for a right holder to be eligible to apply for the registration of a domain name during the “sunrise” phase, such domain name must be strictly identical to the holder’s right. For example, the company owning the “Zadig et Voltaire” trademark may not register the “zv. fr” domain name during the “sunrise” phase.
- Upon the opening of the “sunrise” phase, the first-come, first-served principle applies. The applications, including all supporting documents, must be filed with a registrar authorised by AFNIC. AFNIC will review applications as and when they arrive. If, upon completion of such review, the application for registration of the domain name is accepted, AFNIC will stop reviewing any subsequent applications. It should be noted that during this phase, registration fees will amount to EUR 200 per domain name. Such fees will not be reimbursed in the event of any review by AFNIC resulting in the application being rejected.
The second phase called “landrush” (from 02/16/2015 to 03/16/2015) will apply to all domain names with 1 or 2 characters that were not registered during the “sunrise” phase. The first-come, first-served principle will also apply during this phase and AFNIC will implement a decreasing pricing system. To apply during this phase, it will not be necessary to own specific rights in a name; applicants must simply meet the eligibility conditions of the .fr TLD and pay the corresponding fees.
Applicants who are ready to pay EUR 15,000 per domain name may, for example, file their application as of the first week of the “landrush” phase; then registration fees will amount to EUR 10,000 during the second week, EUR 5,000 during the third week and only EUR 100 during the fourth and last week.
Finally, as from March 17, 2015, registration of all remaining domain names will be open to the general public (general availability phase) and standard registrars’ fees will apply.
In addition, applicants must ensure that their application complies with the specific rules relating to domain names with 1 or 2 characters in order for their application to be approved by AFNIC.
Regarding characters contained in such domain names that are authorised for registration, a complete list is available on the AFNIC website. These authorised characters include all lettersfrom the Latin alphabet, i.e. all letters from the French alphabet, including their accents (for example, the “ä”), as well as letters from other European alphabets, such as the German “β” or the Spanish “ñ”.
However, a number of domain names with 1 or 2 characters are not available for registration by AFNIC. Domain names consisting of national country codes, such as “fr. fr” or “nc.fr” (“nc” being the country code top-level domain for New Caledonia), as well as “co.fr”, “tm.fr” or “nh.fr”, are excluded and may not be registered. However, it is worth noting that AFNIC does not prevent the registration of domain names consisting of country code top-level domains of other countries, such as “de.fr” or “it. fr”.
Finally, it should be specified that a number of domain names with 1 or 2 characters were added to AFNIC’s list concerning names the registration of which is subject to prior review. The names that were added all relate to French town and city names consisting of 1 or 2 letters, such as “oz.fr”, which could legitimately be reserved for use by the town of Oz, located in the Isère département. Pursuant to Article L45-2 of the French Postal and Electronic Communications Code, registration of a domain name may be refused if the domain name is identical or similar to the name of a local authority, unless the applicant demonstrates that he/she has a legitimate interest and is acting in good faith.
Consequently, applicants wishing to register any one of those 18 domain names, that are subject to prior review, must act in good faith and demonstrate a legitimate interest (for ex.: using the domain name in connection with an offering of goods or services) in order for their application to be approved by AFNIC.
A few weeks before the opening of the first registration phase for domain names with 1 or 2 characters, it is important that companies wishing to enhance their visibility on the Internet
consider and determine which strategy to adopt: selecting the rights giving access to the “sunrise” phase, assessing the investments that may be made in order to register such domain
names, assessing the risk that competitors may proceed with such registration, etc.
Responsiveness and rapidity are the main assets of companies seeking to obtain these newly released domain names, which are already very successful in other European countries. In this regard, it should be recalled that in Germany, for example, all possible combinations were registered
only a few minutes after being offered for auction!
Véronique Dahan, counsel
Coralie Vaissière, associate