Hostway News & Events

.EU Domain Names - Landrush begins 11.00AM (CET) Friday 7th April

London, 6 April, 2006, Following the opening of the second sunrise period for the new .eu domain name on the 7th of February, Hostway is warning companies that they only have two months until the floodgates for general registration open on the 7th of April.

The second sunrise period allows all those previously eligible to register for the dot eu domain name, and now also allows other claimants with a valid stake to a name to register, for example, family names. Companies and other individuals which do not act to protect their brand identity before the 7th of April risk losing the domain name to other companies or cybersquatters.

The dot eu domain name is only available to companies or people resident within the European Community, and the first sunrise period limited registrations to public bodies, trademarks and geographical areas. These categories have now broadened to allow more companies and individuals to register their interest. During the second sunrise period, company names, business identifiers, the names of books or other artistic works, unregistered trade marks, trade names and family names can be applied for. However, as the largest top level domain name release for several years, companies are faced with both an opportunity and a challenge. Failure to register for the name could mean loss of corporate pan-European identity, or worse still third parties undermining company trademarks and expensive re-acquisitions of the domain name later on.

"Time is running out for companies to secure their dot eu domain names before the playing field is levelled. This domain release is more important for companies which have an European presence, or are trying to establish one,” said Paul Halfpenny, Product Manager, Hostway. “Companies which fail to protect their European brand identity now are taking an unnecessary risk.”

The new domain name is already proving popular and Eurid, the body administrating the name, took over 117,000 registration requests in the first two days of the first sunrise period. There are 800 official registrars offering the domain name in 25 countries, the UK accounting for 10% of these applications, the fourth highest in the EU.


Philip Turnbull
Press Relations, Hostway UK
0207 538 8000
philip@hostway.co.uk