Global Sunrise

Protecting the rights of legitimate trademark holders prior to the full launch of .CO

.CO Internet is following established best practices in trademark and IP protection to ensure that the domain is launched and managed in an equitable and sustainable way. Our intention is to make the .CO domain name an asset to trademark holders and a tremendous opportunity for companies, entrepreneurs and individuals globally.

We will begin with a structured Sunrise process and implement a number of important rights protection mechanisms to ensure for the fair and orderly distribution of domains. Our policies have been designed with the guidance and counsel of ICANN’s Intellectual Property Constituency in mind; along with the lessons learned from previous domain launches and consultations with a variety of global domain registries.

Between April 26 and June 10, 2010 any trademark in the world may apply for a .CO domain. Please note that if you have a Colombian trademark, you will be entitled to apply earlier for registration.  Please visit our Colombia site for more information.

Eligibility
Eligibility to participate in the Global Sunrise will be limited to holders of trademarks that:  

• Were registered and were in full force and effect on or before July 30, 2008
• Are registered in a trademark office or registry that corresponds to a state or entity described in the WIPO Standard ST.3 code 
• Fully comply with any and all other specified terms and conditions in the .CO Sunrise Policy

Sunrise Process
The sunrise process involves 5 stages, which includes an optional pre-validation process that allows applicants or their agents to interact directly with the validation provider (Deloitte) to validate and ensure applications are accurate and complete prior to submitting them to the .CO registry.

Both ascii and Spanish language IDNs may be applied for during sunrise.

The following are the five stages of sunrise:

• Pre-Validation (optional)
• Submission (Through accredited registrars and their resellers)
• Validation
• Auction
• Award/Injection

Documentation & Validation
In order to prevent the type of systemic fraud that occurred during certain previous TLD launches, it is utmost importance that all rights claimed by trademark owners during the Sunrise Process go through a strict validation process to ensure that the trademark owners actually have the rights they claim they have.  This includes the need for trademark owners to submit certified documentation supporting their intellectual property rights in cases where such rights cannot be validated by an official online database sponsored by the national trademark office.

At the most basic level, in any application for a .CO domain name during the Global Sunrise, applicants will be required to submit certain data to demonstrate that they qualify in relation to the right(s) related to the domain name applied for. The data required will include:

• Registered Mark: Exact word or phrase described by the Registered Mark;
• Registration Number: Registration or serial number of the Registered Mark’s current registration.
• Registration Locality: Location (country/region) where the right is established (using the corresponding WIPO Standard code);
• Capacity: Whether the Applicant holds the trademark as the original “owner” or as an “assignee”.

Deloitte, as the independent “Validation/Verification Agent” will verify every application. This important additional step in the assignment procedure will make sure that only rightful owners will receive a .CO domain at the second level.

The Validation/Verification Agent is generally tasked to give an opinion on whether the information contained in an application meets the requirements laid down in the .CO Sunrise Policy. This opinion will be made based on information contained in the application, as well as other documentary evidence that may be required in accordance with the Policy.

Allocation
Applications will not be granted on a first-come first-served basis, but rather will be collected through the final date of Global Sunrise.  In the event that there is more than one entity applying for the same domain name, with each of them have corresponding trademarks, the name will go to auction.

Please stay tuned for more information on how to apply for a .CO domain during the Global Sunrise.

Background
While local and global intellectual property owners can turn to the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) as a universally applied curative mechanism to address bad faith registration and use of a second or third level domain name after a new TLD has been launched; to date there has been no universally adopted mechanism that TLD administrators can apply in the pre-launch phase of a new TLD, or a new level or sub domain in an existing TLD, to protect the intellectual property rights of third parties.

Given the increasing global diversity of TLD administrators; new and emerging business models; and demands of a rapidly growing global domain marketplace; when it comes to designing and implementing rights protection mechanisms in the launch of a new TLD, the parameters of “best practice” must be assessed in light of the unique facts and circumstances surrounding the particular TLD.

Listed below are some of the key best practice standards that leading administrators have combined in previous gTLD and ccTLD launches to protect the rights of others, and that we have adopted as part of our Plan. 

The best practices and descriptions included herein were adapted from the work of the Intellectual Property Constituency of ICANN, as published in the 2008 Guidebook “The Perfect Sunrise?” How pre-launch Rights Protection Mechanisms and successful registry operations go hand in hand.” They appear in alphabetical order, as they did in the Guidebook.