.mobi Sunrise Registration/Trademark Querries

Sunrise Registration/Trademark Querries

• What are the field requirements for a sunrise application?
• Trademarks or service marks must be of national effect. Explain this statement.
• How will mTLD verify membership of its limited industry sunrise phase?
• What is the trademark date requirement for sunrise and why has it been chosen?
• Will images or logos be accepted?
• Is documentation required for sunrise registration eg a trademark certificate?
• Can you explain the trademark verification process that will take place?
• Is there a separate registration fee for sunrise applications?
• In the event of non-allocation of a domain name, will there still be a sunrise charge?
• Will non-compliant sunrise trademark names be deleted and be made available for re-registration?
• In the case of mergers and acquisitions, it may be the case that trademark documents have not been updated. Do we need to use the trademark owner data as on the certificate even though it is not current?
• How many characters are permitted in a .mobi domain name? What type of characters are permitted?
• Are special characters within trademarks accepted?
• If someone has a trademark such as "trademark.com" could that trademark be used to register trademark.mobi (eliminating the .com from the TM)?
• Could trademark-com.mobi" be registered with the TM "trademark.com"?
• Am I guaranteed a .mobi name if I hold a trademark in a particular name?
• What are the exact launch times for the limited industry sunrise and sunrise?
• For how many years is the sunrise domain name applicable?
• How many associations are participating in the limited industry sunrise?
• What is mTLD’s transfer policy?
• Will Whois records be locked following registration?

Sunrise Challenge Process

• When is the sunrise challenge period?
• What is the basis for a valid sunrise challenge?
• What happens in the event of a multiple challenge?
• How will WIPO’s decision be made and what could be the possible outcome?
• How much is the challenge fee?
• How do I contact WIPO?
• What is involved in submitting a challenge?
• How long will it take to resolve a challenge?

 

Q: What are the field requirements for a sunrise application?

A: 5 requirements:  registered trademark name, trademark registration number,    country of origin, date of registration, date granted.

Q: Trademarks or service marks must be of national effect. Explain this statement. 

A: European Community or US PTO trademarks meet the condition of national effect but a United States State trademark (eg a Texas trademark) or service mark does not. A Benelux trademark registration will also be acceptable. A trademark license will not be considered sufficient.

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Q: How will mTLD verify membership of its limited industry sunrise phase?

A: Each participating Trade Association has sent mTLD a list of its members, parents and subsidiaries which will appear on the website. The standard SRS system used for Sunrise is used for Limited Industry Sunrise.   The additional element for Limited Industry Sunrise is that after the application has passed through SRS, mTLD will compare the Trademark Owner field on the application with the final list of members of eligible trade associations.  If there is no match, then the application will be cancelled by mTLD.

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Q: What is the trademark date requirement for sunrise and why has it been chosen?

A: During sunrise, a trademark holder can apply for a .mobi domain name using EITHER a trademark (of national effect) granted before 11 July 2005 OR a trademark (of national effect) filed before 11 July 2005 but which becomes registered before the domain name is registered. This date is aligned with the date on which the dotMobi contract was signed and has been set to protect trademark holders.

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Q: Will images or logos be accepted?

A: The domain name must be identical to the textual or word elements of the mark. Stylized logos will be accepted as long as the domain name registration fits with the actual textual element.

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Q: Is documentation required for sunrise registration eg a trademark certificate?

A: No. Registrants must simply fill out the fields, however, registrants should have all paperwork in place as there will be a trademark validation process, at which time the domain name registrant may be required to produce the relevant documentation.

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Q: Can you explain the trademark verification process that will take place?

A: mTLD will be working with a third party to carry out a validation process using a proven proprietary process. Fraudulent registrars will be notified.

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Q: Is there a separate registration fee for sunrise applications?

A: No, the only fee is the registrar’s fee set by the registrar itself.

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Q: In the event of non-allocation of a domain name, will there still be a sunrise charge?

A: No fee will be charged in the event of non-allocation, however, in the case of registration that is later cancelled for non-compliance no refund will be granted.

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Q: Will non-compliant sunrise trademark names be deleted and be made available for re-registration?

A: Yes the domain names will be cancelled, and will be made available for re-registration in a timely manner.

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Q: In the case of mergers and acquisitions, it may be the case that trademark documents have not been updated. Do we need to use the trademark owner data as on the certificate even though it is not current?

A: mTLD will require identity between the domain name registrant and the holder of the trademark registration. Trademark owners should make sure their records are in order before filing Sunrise applications.

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Q: How many characters are permitted in a .mobi domain name? What type of characters are permitted?

A: mobi domain names must have at least 3 characters up to a maximum of 63. A dotMobi domain name may only contain the English-language letters A through Z, and the digits 0 through 9. It may contain hyphens, but hyphens cannot begin or end the domain name. Spaces and special characters are never permitted.

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Q: Are special characters within trademarks accepted?

A: If you own a trademark registration for “Service & Mark” and qualify to register in .mobi, you may apply for , , or (or indeed serviceundmark.mobi, serviceetmark.mobi – ie, a foreign translation). If the trademark contains letters which contain additional elements that for technical reasons cannot be reproduced in the domain name, such as ä, é or ñ, the letters concerned must, in the Domain Name, be reproduced without these elements (such as a, e, n), or must be replaced by conventionally accepted spellings (such as ae for ä). In all other respects, the Domain Name must be identical to the textual or word elements of the mark.

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Q: If someone has a trademark such as "trademark.com" could that trademark be used to register trademark.mobi (eliminating the .com from the TM)?

A: If someone has a trademark in ‘trademark.com’, they can register ‘trademarkcom.mobi’. As per WIPO requirements, the Domain Name must be identical to the textual or word elements of the mark. Therefore the ‘dot’ / period would be ignored in this instance.

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Q: Could trademark-com.mobi" be registered with the TM "trademark.com"?

A: Yes, trademark-com.mobi could be registered.

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Q: Am I guaranteed a .mobi name if I hold a trademark in a particular name?

A: As per our ICANN agreement mTLD is unable to guarantee anyone a .mobi domain name or offer assurances as everything is open to challenge (and sunrise challenges will be dealt with by WIPO).

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Q: What are the exact launch times for the limited industry sunrise and sunrise?

A: 10am EST.

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Q: For how many years is the sunrise domain name applicable?

A: Sunrise registrations are only accepted for a minimum term of two years up to a  maximum of ten.

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Q: How many associations are participating in the limited industry sunrise?

A: 8 – AMTA, CTIA, CWTA, GSMA, MMA, MEF, NZWF and RCA. Associations have provided their list of members, members’ parent companies and members’ subsidiaries companies to mTLD.

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Q: What is mTLD’s transfer policy?

A: Domain names must not be transferred before the end of the sunrise challenge period or until any challenges have been resolved.

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Q: Will Whois records be locked following registration?

A: Yes, the Whois records will be locked and it is therefore vital that the correct info be supplied as it cannot be changed until December. 

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Q: When is the sunrise challenge period?

A: Sunrise Registration Challenge period begins on Monday 28 August 2006 and will continue until Friday, 15 December 2006 (12 Noon GMT). dotMobi dispute resolution services during this time will be provided exclusively by WIPO and challenges must be submitted directly to WIPO. Guidelines and forms are available on WIPO’s web site at www.wipo.int. 

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Q: What is the basis for a valid sunrise challenge?

A: The only basis for a valid sunrise challenge to a sunrise registration is if:

• at the time of the Respondent’s registration of the Domain Name, no current (non-expired) trademark or service mark registration was registered in the Respondent’s name; or
• the Domain Name is not identical to the textual or word elements of the trademark or service mark registration on which the registration of the Respondent’s Domain Name is based; or
• the trademark or service mark registration on which the registration of the Respondent’s Domain Name is based is not of national effect; or
• the trademark or service mark on which the registration of the Respondent’s Domain Name was based was not registered or applied for, prior to July 11, 2005, with the trademark authority with which the mark is registered.

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Q: What happens in the event of a multiple challenge?

A: In the event of more than one challenge, WIPO will only process the first challenge received. If a challenge is terminated without a determination, WIPO will then process the next filed challenge, provided it was processed during the sunrise challenge period. 

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Q: How will WIPO’s decision be made and what could be the possible outcome?

A: The Center’s decision of whether the Sunrise Registration Conditions are met will  be based on a prima facie examination of any trademark or service mark certificates submitted, in relation to the information contained in the relevant mTLD Whois database. The Center’s decision is of an administrative nature and shall be final. The Center shall not be required to state reasons for its decision. If the Center is unable to find that a registrant has registered the Domain Name in compliance with the Sunrise Registration Conditions, the Challenge will be granted. mTLD is not liable for any decisions made by WIPO. The only remedies available to a Challenger shall be limited to requiring the cancellation of the Domain Name registration or the transfer of the Domain Name registration to the Challenger. 

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Q: How much is the challenge fee?

A: The challenger must pay a fee of $750 and all payments are to be submitted by credit card. 

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Q: How do I contact WIPO?

A: All information can be found in our sunrise challenge rules document on our web-site. However, WIPO can be contacted as follows (note that email communication should for the most part be used):

(i) electronic mail: sunrise.mobi@wipo.int
(ii) facsimile transmission: +41 22 740 3700
(iii) postal or courier service:
WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
34 chemin des Colombettes
1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland

 

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Q: What is involved in submitting a challenge?

A: The procedure is as set out in mTLD’s sunrise challenge rules (section: dispute resolution overview). Essentially a description of the challenge in no more than 2,000 words must be submitted using the headings given. WIPO’s on-line Challenge Form can be found on its web-site. If all is submitted as it should be along with the payment, WIPO shall send due notification to the domain name holder. In the case of any deficiencies in a challenge submission, WIPO shall notify the challenger. If notified of a challenge, the owner of the domain name must respond within 45 days or else risk losing the name to the challenger. 

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Q: How long will it take to resolve a challenge?

A: WIPO will use all reasonable efforts to resolve a challenge within 30 days. The outcome will be communicated to the parties and published on a publicly accessible site.

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Introduction

This document describes the proposed conformance policy to be used when enforcing the mandatory rules described in the “dotMobi Switch On! Guide for Web Browsing.”

This guide lays down three mandatory rules that registrants must agree to comply with when they register a dotMobi domain. All web sites providing a service accessible within the dotMobi domain must conform to those rules in order to ensure the end-user experience lives up to the promise of the dotMobi brand. An essential part of this policy is that non-conformant domains will be suspended, if necessary, through a well-documented and understood process.

Domain Testing Approach

mTLD will test all dotMobi domains for conformance to the three mandatory rules. The testing will be carried out once per quarter per domain, though this frequency may be increased for sites that have not been compliant in the past.

• Only domains that have web sites actually running on them on port 80 will be tested for compliance – registrants of dotMobi domains are not required to actually use them to run a web site or application.
• The test tool will emulate fictional user agents and not provide any HTTP “Accept” headers in order to fully test rule 1 (an XHTML-MP must page must be served by default).
• Only hostnames www.domain.mobi and domain.mobi will be tested – other third level domains are considered out of scope and will not be tested
• If the site provides its home page by redirection then all intermediate pages that are delivered in the course of the redirection will be checked.
• A database will be maintained of domain compliance information for all tested domains.

Notification to Registrars

The contract for the use of a .mobi domain is between the registrar and the registrant, hence any communication to the registrant about the compliance status of their domain must initially come via the registrar. mTLD will inform each registrar on a regular basis about any domains associated with them that are not in compliance with the mandatory rules, via a special report made available to them. The frequency of this report has yet to be determined. mTLD will only step in at the third and final stage of non-compliance to communicate directly with the registrant.

Registrars will, in turn, be required to notify the appropriate registrant in any manner they choose, probably with an email message sent to the site administrator address that is required on domain registration. This notification is a one-way communication from the registry to the registrar – registrars are not obliged to notify mTLD of successful/unsuccessful communication with the registrant.

Non-Compliance Stages

There will be five stages in the domain compliance process as indicated in the following timeline:

The compliance process works as follows:

• The mTLD test tool will periodically visit every site in the .mobi domain. Every .mobi domain will be tested for conformance no less frequently than once every 90 days
• If a domain is found to be not in conformance with one or more of the mandatory rules, the domain goes into “first notification” state and the domain administrative contact is notified via the appropriate registrar.
• If in the period 15 days from the notification of the registrant the domain is again found not to be in compliance, the domain goes into “second notification” state and a second notification is sent to the domain administrative contact via the appropriate registrar, 15 days after the first notification. The registrars will be obliged to make it clear that this is the second notification.
• If in the period 15 days from the second notification the domain is again found to be not in compliance, the domain goes into “final notification” state and a third and final notification is sent to the domain administrative contact, directly from mTLD, 30 days after the first notification. This email will state that the compliance check has failed 3 times, citing dates and times, and state that the domain is pending suspension. A designated contact in the relevant registrar will be copied on the email. The email will also contain challenge instructions and a link to enable the registrant to appeal the decision.
• If compliance has not been reached within the next 30 days, the domain is then suspended, 30 days after the final notice and 60 days after the initial notice. The suspension process is described in more detail below.

In each case, the notification that is sent to the registrant will indicate the following pieces of information to help them diagnose the problem:

• List of Switch On! Guide rules that site does not conform to
• Date/time of check (with time zone)
• The user agent that the test tool was emulating
• The site URL that was checked

If at any stage of this timeline the domain compliance check for the domain in question passes (domain is compliant), the domain automatically reverts back to “domain in compliance” status.

Site Suspension

The final step of the site suspension process will involve human oversight to ensure appropriate decisions are made. Sites pending suspension will be reviewed weekly by mTLD and actioned appropriately, on a case-by-case basis. Domains will be suspended by setting the domain status to REGISTRY-HOLD status in the root DNS servers. This will prevent any name resolution of any queries related to the domain, and all sub domains.

Un-Suspension

Sites that are found to be non-conformant will remain on the list of sites that are tested. If a previously non-conformant site tests OK, its status will automatically be un-suspended.

There will be a page on the mTLD web site specially for registrants who wish to accelerate the un-suspension their domains. This page will include a form that will enable a domain holder to request a re-test of their domain. This page will not be password protected. When a domain retest is requested, the domain in question will be added to a list of domains for accelerated testing. Submitting the domain for re-testing can be requested multiple times, but the test will take place only once per day, maximum.

Site Self-Testing

mTLD will make available self-test page on our website that will allow registrants to test their own websites. This page will initiate an immediate test of the site in question and respond back with a pass/fail indication and explain the reasons why. Domain checks may be limited to a certain number per day in order to reduce costs.

Appeals Process

mTLD will support a process for registrants to challenge the suspension of their domain. This will be implemented using a web form on http://mtld.mobi and will allow users to state their domain name and supply contact details (email and phone number)  as part of their appeal. A human process will commence at this point to review the appeal. This process has not yet been defined.

Exceptions & Changes

mTLD reserves the right to make exceptions to the domain compliance rule.

mTLD reserves the right to make changes to this Compliance Policy up until the General Registration period for the domain.

Communication with Registrars

Communication with registrars will be achieved using the existing reporting mechanism that is already in use between registries and registrars: domain conformance information will be conveyed in a new report type made available to registrars. This report will be announced with an email to a designated contact in each registrar.

Browsing Switch On! Guide Revision Policy
Introduction

This document describes the policy of dotMobi with respect to Switch On! Guides and their applicability to published dotMobi websites including notification periods, deprecation and grace periods.

Revision Frequency

The dotMobi Switch On! Guide will be updated no more frequently than twice per annum. mTLD will endeavour to ensure that changes made in these revisions are not substantive in nature.

Notice Period

Notice will be posted on the mTLD website (http://mtld.mobi) two months in advance of any Switch On! Guide update being published and designated “Current.”

Deprecation

Once a new version of the Switch On! Guide is made available on the mTLD website (http://mtld.mobi), the previous “Current” version will be marked as “Deprecated.”

Applicability Windows & Content Migration

Revisions made to the dotMobi Switch On! Guide do not apply retroactively: that is, web content published while a previous version of the Switch On! Guide was in “Current” status is not required to be updated to comply with any revised version of the document. The determination of when content was published is made using the HTTP “Last-Modified” header.

New content published on a dotMobi website must comply with the latest version of the Switch On! Guide after a grace period of one month i.e. one month after the publication of a new version of the Switch On! Guide, all new content published must comply with the latest “Current” version of the document.