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.biz Frequently Asked Questions This section provides answers to
some of the most commonly asked questions about the registration of .biz domain
names.
What is the Intellectual Property Claim service? The Intellectual
Property Claim service is a service offered by the .biz registry to intellectual
property owners during the phases leading up to the launch of .biz (currently
anticipated to be October 1, 2001). This service allows the owner of a common
law or registered or pending trademark or service mark ("trademark") to file an
Intellectual Property Claim ("IP Claim"). Any party that files an IP Claim will
be notified by .biz when a domain name identical to the alphanumeric string
listed in the IP Claim is registered by .biz during the start-up period for this
TLD.
I am a current reseller, how do I add the .biz IP Claim Service to my
offerings? In order to add the .biz IP Claim Service to your offerings,
you must first sign and fax a copy of the Tucows - Reseller agreement - the
contact can be found here.
What are the advantages to using the IP Claim service? Basically,
the three advantages to using the IP Claim service are as follows:
Notification - If there is an exact match between the string listed
in an IP Claim and a successful domain name successfully registered during the
start-up phase, .biz will provide the trademark owner that submitted the IP
Claim with the WHOIS information for the successful domain name registrant.
Any such notification will take place upon the launch of .biz, currently
anticipated to be October 1, 2001. Standing - Only parties that have
filed an IP Claim will have access to the Start-up Trademark Opposition Policy
(STOP). STOP carries a lower burden of proof than the UDRP. STOP is basically
the UDRP with a modification to Section 4(a)(iii). Under STOP, a trademark
owner only has to prove that the domain name in question was registered OR
used in bad faith. Cooling-Off Period - Another advantage to the IP
Claim service is that any domain name registration successfully registered
during the start-up period that is identical to a string listed in an IP Claim
will be placed on hold for 30 days from the "live" date for .biz. Under the
current timeline, this would give a trademark owner that filed a Claim Form
time to file an action under STOP or amicably resolve the matter before the
domain name goes live.
Please note, however, that all claimants that wish to file a STOP action must
file the necessary complaint within twenty (20) days of being notified of their
claim priority by the .biz registry. The documents setting out the STOP and the
Rules of Procedure governing STOP may be found as Exhibits 1 & 2 to Appendix
M of the .biz registry agreement located on the ICANN website at:
http://www.icann.org/tlds/agreements/biz/registry-agmt-appm-27apr01.htm.
When can I file my IP Claim? Entry into the IP Claim Service runs
from May 21, 2001 to approximately July 9, 2001. After this period no additional
filings for IP Claims will be accepted. The IP Claim database will only be used
during the initial Domain Name Application & Selection steps leading up to
the launch of the .biz Registry. After the Registry begins accepting live
registrations, new registrations for domain names will no longer be checked
against the IP Claim Service database.
How does it work? During Step 1, an intellectual property owner
will provide the following information to you, the reseller for its IP Claim
database:
- Account holder contact information
- Intellectual property (IP) owner contact information
- Person to receive legal correspondence regarding claims (name and contact
information)
- The character string for which you are claiming IP rights (note that the
associated domain name for this string will be an exact match with the
character string plus the .biz extension)
- Description of goods/services, including the international class of goods
and services
- Date that your intellectual property was first used in commerce
- Status (whether IP rights are based on registration or application with
any national trademark office-or based on common law rights)
- The effective date of an application or registration provided above, if
applicable.
- Country where the IP was first used
During the Domain Name Application step (Step 2), NeuLevel will monitor all
applications for exact matches with the IP Claim database. Whenever there is an
exact match between the name an IP owner has claimed and a domain name
application, NeuLevel will notify the applicant and advise them of the IP
owner's claim. Specifically, NeuLevel will provide the following
information:
- IP String being claimed
- Name of the company that owns the IP
- Details regarding the claim (including description of the goods and
services associated with the IP String, date of first use, country of first
use, status of claim-registered, pending or common law)
- Name and contact info for the legal contact: someone whom the potential
registrant designates to receive legal correspondence on their behalf,
regarding the claim
NOTE: A domain name applicant who submits a domain name application
for the exact mark claimed by an IP Claimant must notify NeuLevel of its
decision to go ahead with the domain name selection process. If the applicant
notifies NeuLevel of their decision to go ahead, NeuLevel will process the
domain name application and include it during the name selection process. If
applicant fails to notify NeuLevel of a decision-or if the applicant notifies
NeuLevel that they do not wish to go ahead-the domain name application will not
be processed or included in the name selection process. After the close of the
applications window (September 25), domain names will be awarded to selected
registrants. In cases where there are multiple applications for the same name,
all applications will be randomized prior to the selection of one application to
receive the name. At the start of Step 3, .biz Domain Names Go Live, unless the
domain name is subject to an IP Claim. An automatic 30-day hold is placed on any
domain name registrations for which there is a match with an IP Claim. Upon the
launch of the Registry, IP Claimants will be notified if there is a match
between a domain name registration and their IP Claim. NeuLevel will provide the
Claimant(s) all the WHOIS data for the successful domain name registrant. The
"Hold Period" provides the Claimant the opportunity to use STOP or take other
appropriate action, as needed.
How much does it cost? InterNic.com.ua is offering the IP
Claim Service for $50.00US.
Does the filing of an IP Claim eliminate the need for filing a domain name
application in .biz? Absolutely not. Trademark owners interested in
obtaining a domain name registration in .biz must file a separate domain name
application.
Are registrants/resellers allowed to cancel an IP Claim? No. The
registrant/reseller cannot cancel the IP Claim once it has been submitted
through the RWI. The IP Claim Service is non-refundable.
How many IP Claims can I submit? You are allowed to submit as many
IP Claims as you wish - you could have many trademarks you wish to protect.
Can more than one party file an IP Claim on a single character
string? Yes. Any party that has trademark rights in a character string
may file an IP Claim covering its mark. For example, ACME HARDWARE, ACME
PLUMBING, and ACME INSURANCE may each file a separate IP Claim for "ACME";
provided, however, that each of the companies has legitimate trademark rights
(which may include an intent-to-use application) in the sole term "ACME."
Are multiple IP Claims for the same name permitted? Yes. The
registry will not be restricting the number of IP Claims for a particular
trademark, although from a registrant perspective, it is not an efficient way to
invest in the protection of their domain.
How accurate must the information in the IP Claim be? Very
accurate. NeuLevel requires all provided information to be correct. For example,
the domain name must resolve, and all email addresses for company or claimholder
representatives must be accurate.
Why is the above information required? NeuLevel will not process
the IP Claim if the required information is inaccurate. If NeuLevel cannot
validate the claim, NeuLevel will not process the claim. If NeuLevel cannot
process the claim, they WILL NOT refund the registrants money.
How does the IP Claim service interact with the UDRP? Trademark
owners' rights are not affected by using - or not using - the IP Claim service.
Stated somewhat differently, the IP Claim service is offered as an accommodation
to trademark owners, but its use is solely at the election of the owner.
Similarly, the IP Claim service does not affect the UDRP. Challenges brought
against trademark owners' registrations during the IP Claim period are handled
under STOP. Disputes thereafter will be handled in the usual course, i.e., under
the UDRP or in a court action.
Why submit a Domain Name Application? During the Domain Name
Application period, companies have the opportunity to apply for a domain name
prior to the launch of the Registry and the acceptance of regular domain name
registrations.
Are there any specifications regulating which .biz domains can or cannot
be registered? Yes. ICANN has sanctioned that all single-character labels
and two-character labels be initially reserved. Therefore registrants may not
register domains with a single character (eg. www.b.biz) or two-character labels
(eg. www.me.biz).
When does the Domain Name Application Service begin? The Domain
Name Application step begins June 25, 2001 and ends September 25, 2001. Any
names submitted after September 25 will not be considered eligible for Name
Selection.
What happens between September 26, 2001 and October 1, 2001? During
this time, the NeuLevel registry will collect all Domain Applications submitted
during the June 25, 2001 - September 25, 2001 time period and randomly select
who the .biz registration request will be awarded to (if there is more than one
application for a particular domain).
How do I submit a domain name application? Here's an overview of
how the Domain Name Application Step works: Businesses submit .biz domain
name applications to their reseller. The Resellers will submit these requests
to Tucows who will then submit to NeuLevel, the .biz Registry. The submission
provides businesses and individuals with the opportunity to apply for their
desired domain name prior to general registration of domain names. All names
submitted during this step will be processed during this step. In cases where
multiple domain name applications were submitted for the same name, the Registry
will select one application through a completely neutral and random
process-ignoring the order in which the submissions were received and avoiding
preference toward any Registrar. Tucows will notify resellers of all
successful and unsuccessful domain name applicants. NOTE: Because it
is anticipated that there may be multiple requests for many of the same names,
there is no guarantee that a company's domain name request will be successfully
registered by submitting an application.
Where do registrants submit their application? Registrants may
submit applications via their current reseller. Tucows will be providing all
resellers with a tool to collect pre-registrations.
Is there an application fee? Yes. The NeuLevel registry is charging
a non-refundable domain application fee for every domain application received in
this phase. As a result, Tucows will be charging our resellers a non-refundable
domain application fee of $3.00US/domain application, less volume discounts.
How much is domain registration? Minimum initial registration is
$20. ($10US/domain/year for a minimum for two years.)
Will the domain application guarantee the registrant the name they
request? No. The registrant is not guaranteed the .biz name even though
they have submitted a request. The registry will be utilizing a lottery system
to randomly select a registrant to receive the domain they have applied for. The
registrant is still required to pay the non-refundable domain application
fee.
What happens if I am the only applicant for a particular
domain? The registrant will automatically be awarded the domain that they
have pre-registered for. They are still required to pay the non-refundable
domain application fee plus the cost of the domain.
What about protection of Intellectual Property Rights? All domain
name applications will be compared against the IP Claim Service database.
Whenever the comparison results in an exact match between a domain name
application and an IP Claim, the prospective registrant will be notified by
e-mail. The e-mail will contain the name of the Reseller that submitted the
application, the name and contact information of the IP Claimant-as well as
information regarding the IP Claim. There will also be a link to a Web site
where the pre-registrant must go to confirm their desire to either proceed with
the application or cancel the request. At the end of Domain Name Application and
.biz Name Selection, all of the domain name requests are processed and awarded
appropriately. You will be notified through your Registrar.
When does the Registry Live Phase begin? Registry Live is expected
to begin October 1, 2001 and run for an indefinite period of time. Registrants
may apply for a .biz domain with the intention of use for the conduct of
business.
How much will domain name renewals cost? Renewals will cost $XX
US/year/domain for a minimum of one and a maximum of ten
years.
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