Close on the heels of delegation, the dot Shabaka registry has begun the Sunrise period for trademark holders to register their Arabic trademarks in an internationalized domain name (IDN) known as شبكة (xn--ngbc5azd), the Arabic word for “Web” or “Network.”
The Sunrise period is currently under way and will close on Monday December 30th, 2013. As you may recall in a prior blog post New gTLD registries can opt to forgo the previously required 30 day advance Sunrise notice and instead open Sunrise without notice. Registries that opt for this will have to keep Sunrise open for 60 days.
Eligible trademark holders must provide their signed mark data (SMD) file any Sunrise registration.
The beginning of the first sunrise period in the New gTLD Program has several implications for the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) too. These include:
- The end of ‘early bird’ registrations
- TMCH records now begin their official subscription period
- The first Sunrise implies that Deloitte (the Trademark Clearinghouse validator) will now begin enforcing ‘re-correct dates’, the deadline by which TMCH applicants must correct their applications or risk the application lapsing
It is strongly recommended that trademark owners take action and ensure they have both their TMCH and overall new gTLD Strategy in place, as outlined in our recent blog post.
With this announcement, it is anticipated that the New gTLD Program will move at a quick pace, making it a potentially confusing time for brand holders.
About CSC Digital Brand Services
CSC Digital Brand Services will continue to monitor the new gTLD registries closely and make sure you get the facts on these launches (minus the hype and speculation) and will inform you once dates are firm via this blog and our client-only resource center, The Brand Circle. Please subscribe to our mailing list to make sure you don’t miss any breaking news as it happens.
In the meantime, CSC Digital Brand Services is ready and able to assist you with the above-listed important preparations. For immediate assistance contact your CSC Digital Brand Services Client Service Partner or Strategic Account Manager. If you are not a CSC Digital Brand Services client, please click here for a free New gTLD consultation.