EU Sunrise Pre-registration

General Description of the process

During the Sunrise Period, only eligible parties that apply and prove a "prior right" to the domain name applied for, will be granted with the domain name (under several conditions).

There are 2 phases for the Sunrise pre-registration period:

During phase 1, only registered national and Community trademarks, geographical indications, designations of origin and the complete name of public bodies or the acronym that is generally used may be applied for as domain names by holders or licensees of prior rights and by public bodies

During phase 2, the names that can be applied for during phase 1 as well as names based on all other prior rights (e.g. trade names, company names and business identifiers in as far as they are protected under the national law of the EU Member State where they are held) can be applied for as domain names by holders of prior rights to those names.

"Prior Rights" include, among others:

• National and community trademarks;
• Geographical indications or designations of origin;

In addition, and as far as they are protected under national law in the EU Member-State where they are held "Prior Rights" include:

• Unregistered trademarks;
• Trade names;
• Business names;
• Company names;
• Family names;
• Distinctive titles of protected literary and artistic works.

Who may apply during the Sunrise period?

During the phase 1 of the Sunrise period only the domain names that correspond with the following may be applied for by the public body or holder/licensee of the prior right concerned:

• The full name of a public body;
• The acronym by which a public body is commonly know;
• If applicable, the territory which is governed by a public body;
• Registered community or national trademarks;
• Geographical indications and designations of origin.

During the phase 2 of the Sunrise period, domain names that correspond with the following may be applied for:

• The names listed in phase 1;
• Other prior rights that are protected under the national law of the EU Member State where they are held such as:
  • Unregistered trademarks
  • Trade names
  • Company names
  • Business identifiers
  • Distinctive titles of protected literary and artistic works.

It is important to remember that not all the rights listed are recognized in each member state. Applicants will be required to provide the legal basis that grants the right in community law or the national law of the member state where the right is held and provide documentary evidence which is accepted to demonstrate the right under that law.

How can I apply for my .eu domain name during the Sunrise period?

If you qualify to register your domain name during the sunrise period click here and fill out the Sunrise application form. You will then need to print the form for each domain name, sign it and either fax it to us or send it by regular mail.

In addition to the usual information required to register a .eu domain name, sunrise applications will be required to state the right they are claiming to the domain name (for example: company name or trademark) and under which law that right is granted.

In some cases, a company might have a right to a name from a number of sources (for example, a company may be registered by that name in the national register and it may also have a registered trademark of the same name). When applying for a .eu domain name, only one right can be claimed in each application.

If more than one valid application for the same name by the .eu registry, applications will be assessed on a first-come-first-served basis as required by the European Commission public policy rules for .eu.

First-come-first-served will be determined by the time/date at which the application is received into the registry's database after it opens for the sunrise period.

When a correctly completed sunrise application is received the .eu domain name registry will send an email to you (the applicant) and to Domain The Net (the registrar) confirming that the application has been received. It will also advise where the application sits in the queue for that name (if there is more than one applicant), what documentation we require to prove the right and access to a form which must be completed signed and returned with the proof within 40 days.

The .eu domain names registry has appointed Validation Agents to authenticate the proof and advise if an application is accepted or rejected. You will be required to send your proof of rights to us, and we will provide it to the Validation Agent.

Until an application for a name is accepted or until all applications for that name are rejected, the domain name will be blocked from being registered by any other party, even if validation has not taken place by the time open registration begins.

The Validation Process

Sunrise applications will be dealt with on a first come first served basis.

If the first sunrise applicant for a name (or indeed the only applicant for that name) sends acceptable proof of their right to the name within the 40 days provided, the Validation Agent will assess the documentation provided by that applicant. If the documentation proves the right claimed, the application will be approved and that name will be registered to that applicant. It will become usable only after a 40-day period to allow for any errors or appeals. Any later applicants for the same name will be notified.

If the first applicant for a name fails to provide acceptable documentation within the 40 days allocated, the application will be rejected and the Validation Agent will assess the documentation from the applicant whose application for the name was received second and so on until a valid application is found and the name is registered. If none of the applicants for a name send adequate proof of their right to the name within the 40 days specified the name will be unblocked and available for general registration on a first-come-first-served basis.

Guidelines for the Electronic Submission of Documents

Documentary Evidence submitted in electronic format must meet the following requirements:

1. each Application must be substantiated with one (1) set of Documentary Evidence scanned at 200 dpi in one pdf file; it is not allowed to combine different sets of Documentary Evidence for different Applications in one single pdf file;
2. the complete file must be humanly readable with Adobe Acrobat Reader version 6;
3. the images must be in DIN A4 size (29,7 cm x 21 cm) or in letter (27,94 cm x 21,59 cm)
4. the images must be in portrait (not landscape);
5. the background of the images must be plain white;
6. the Documentary Evidence shall not be retouched with ink or correcting fluid or otherwise altered;
7. the Documentary Evidence must be in the official language of the European Union selected by the Applicant in its Application; if the Documentary Evidence is not in the official language selected in the Application, it must be accompanied with a sworn translation of all Documentary Evidence in the language selected in the Application;

* Source: EURid