What will be the rules for registering .中国 domain names?
The regulations and rules for registering .china domain names are not yet made public. However, CNNIC states that registrants of existing domain names with “Chinese characters + .cn” automatically will be granted the equivalent Chinese variant in the new .china top level domain name (both in simplified and traditional Chinese).
It is also expected that a registration of a .china domain name in simplified Chinese will automatically give access to the same domain name translated into traditional Chinese and vice versa.
What to do?
As the new .china domain name is expected over time to become as popular as “.cn” and “.com.cn”, it is recommended that companies who plan to or already operate in China:
a) find a domain name registrar that offers .cn domain names
b) follow domain registrar newsletters on the launch of .china
c) apply in sunrise periods referring to your trademark numbers. If local presence will be required and if you do not have a subsidiary in China, you may consider using a trustee or “local presence” service where, for example, a Chinese law firm or a trusted Chinese business partner will operate as the registrant of your .china domain names
d) monitor for potential infringing applications under relevant new gTLDs and IDN ccTLDs
e) find a registrar or service provider that offers this service
f) contact your registrar for support and additional guidance
g)
The costs for a .china domain name are expected to be the same as for .cn domain names today. A foreign registrar should be able to offer a .china domain name for USD 50 to USD 100. There may be additional costs related to a sunrise period which typically are in the range of USD 250 to USD 500.
New generic top level domains expected to be launched in 2012
In addition to the new country code top level domain names such as .china, ICANN is also planning to introduce a series of new “generic top level domain names” (gTLDs).
Today we are familiar with generic top level domain names such as .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, and .asia. Next year, ICANN will invite interested companies, countries, or organization to apply for new gTLDs.
It is expected that more than 300 new gTLDs will be launched in 2012. These new gTLDs can be both in Latin and non-Latin script.
The new gTLDs are expected to fall into the following categories;
• geoTLDs (such as .africa and .lat [for Latin America])
• cityTLDs (such as .berlin, .paris, .london, .roma)
• communityTLDs (such as .gay, .eco, .music, .hotel, .sport)
• generic TLDS (such as .web, .shop, .radio)
• industry TLDs (such as .car, .hotel)
• ethnicTLDs (such as .zulu or .cym [for Wales])
• brandTLDs (such as .canon, .facebook, .visa
• IDN TLDs (such as .com in Chinese or maybe .shop in Japanese script)
How may this affect the domain name strategy of international corporations operating in China? Can I get one?
Most companies will have to carefully analyze if the benefits of applying for your own generic top level domain name; “.company” or even; “.companyname IN-CHINESE-SCRIPT” will be worth the expected costs. In addition to ICANN’s application fee of USD 185,000 and their yearly SLA fee of USD 25,000, one must plan to spend at least another USD300,000 for consulting and marketing costs in the application process and at least a similar amount each year for operating and promoting such a company TLD. This will most likely be an exercise primarily for global brands such as Canon, the first brand which has published its ambition to apply for its own “.canon” top level domain.
So if you cannot get one or it does not make sense, why should I pay attention to yet more top level domain names?
As the new gTLDs can both express a connection to a local geographical area – be it a city or a region – these new gTLDs potentially may change the way internet users search for information, as may it change the algorithms of the largest search engines, which today tend to favour a ccTLD such as .cn over a .com domain if you search for websites related to China.
