So, “dot co” is the new black, or the new “dot com”. Looking at the overcrowded “.com TLD”, it is easy to come to this conclusion, the new .co TLD brings a refreshing air to the domains arena and brings new opportunities to companies and startups alike to find normal domain names for their new ventures.

After many years of growing numbers for the dot com domains and few possibilities for new companies, the .co domains open the doors for anyone to buy domains with an additional advantage, you save one letter on your domain. And taking into account the additional benefits of “co” meaning COmpany, COrporation, COoperative, etc. It is very easy to see why this is going to be a welcomed change to many companies.

The “Landrush” phase is well under way, and probably many common words are being registered as .co domains, going through the auction format, winners will be available soon.

And the general public availability to buy .co domains will be open July 20th, 2010.

We will keep you posted!

To give you a clear understanding of how you can take advantage of Global Sunrise, you must first understand what this is about. Global Sunrise is the second phase of the pre-launch process of .CO domain registration. It begins with a structured process and implements a number of important rights protection mechanism to ensure fair and orderly domain distribution.

All eligible applicants can already submit their application during the Global Sunrise phase which is scheduled between April 26 and June 10. Applicants will be required to submit certain data to demonstrate their qualification in relation to the right(s) related to the domain name that they are applying for. Each application will undergo validation and verification within this period as means of ensuring that applicants have the rights that they claim to have.  This is also the phase when the domain names are awarded or injected.

To take advantage of the Global Sunrise .CO domain application, you must understand the eligibility requirement, the required data or documents for the application and the means of validating your application.

When .CO domain registrar created the launch plan for Global Sunrise, it had one thing in mind – to follow established best practices in trademark and IP protection; ensuring an orderly and fair domain distribution. The registrar aims to be an asset to holders of trademark and to provide a great opportunity for small to large businesses as well as individuals who will use this domain.

So take advantage of Global Sunrise and comply with its policies and procedures to get a sustainable .CO domain.

The answer is simple – we want clean, legal and orderly allocation of .CO domain names. This is our way of ensuring that the .CO domain name becomes an asset to trademark holders and provides a global sustainable opportunity for companies and individuals alike. Within the Global Sunrise phase, trademark holders will undergo strict validation of their rights to ensure that the .CO domain registration will be done in an equitable and sustainable way.

The Global Sunrise is built on a structured processes and implements various rights protection mechanism of the trademark holders for an orderly and fair distribution of the domain. The policies for .CO domain registration were inspired by the ICANN’s Intellectual Property Constituency and the lessons learned from previous domain launches. The policies were also established based on the results of the consultation from different Global Domain registries.

Global Sunrise has 2 parts. One is intended for the holders of Columbian Trademark where they can apply for the domain before the April 26 to June 10 schedules; herewith marked as Sunrise Local A. The other one is Sunrise Global B where registered trademark holders from different parts of the world apply for their corresponding Domain names to .CO TLD. They must pass the eligibility requirements to be qualified.

There are 5 stages in the Sunrise process. The first one is an optional pre-validation process where the applicants or their agents are allowed to directly interact with Deloitte, a third party Validation provider, in ensuring that the applications are accurate. The second stage is the submission of relevant documents through the accredited registrars and their resellers. The Deloitte will verify and validate the application in the third stage, which is the Validation stage. If there is more than one entity applying for the same domain name, an auction, which is the fourth stage of the Sunrise, will be conducted to properly award the applied name. Finally, the last stage is the awarding or injection of the domain name application.

From April 26^th to June 10^th of 2010 marks the Global Sunrise. Any trademark holder from different parts of the world can apply for a .CO domain registration between these dates. To be eligible for the domain application, you must be a holder of trademarks that were registered and were in full force effective July 30 2008. The trademarks should also have been registered in a trademark office or registry that matches the description from the WIPO Standard ST.3 code and it must comply with the policy of .CO Sunrise as stated in their Terms and Conditions.

You application will undergo 5 stages determined by Sunrise. These stages include pre-validation (optional), submission through accredited domain registrars and their sellers, validation, auction and award/injection.

To ensure that the TLD launch is free from fraud, all trademark rights will undergo a strict validation process. You must then prepare and submit certified documents supporting the intellectual property rights of your trademark. This is especially necessary if the rights cannot be validated online by the national trademark office.  Likewise, all applicants must present the following data:

• Registered Mark: Exact word or phrase described by the Registered Mark;
• Registration Number: Registration or serial number of the Registered Mark’s current registration;
• Registration Locality: Location (country/region) where the right is established (using the corresponding WIPO Standard code);
• Capacity: Whether the Applicant holds the trademark as the original “owner” or as an “assignee”.

This data is important as it determines if you truly qualify for the domain that you are applying for. This will be verified by an independent Validation/Verification agent called the Deloitte.

At the end, all applications will be collected until the final date of Global Sunrise. If there is more than one entity applying for the same domain name, the name will be auctioned to the entities that applied for it.

Note that if you have a Colombian Trademark, you can apply for the .CO domain registration before April 26.

Take part and get the domain that will give you lasting online opportunities.

This is a short entry to highlight an article that Ryan Singel at Wired, wrote today. A very thoughtful article on the new .CO TLD and its impact on the Internet, domains industry and copyrights.

Check the full article here:
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/05/dotco/

The Local Trademark phase finished (when Colombian trademark holders had priority to register their matching .co domains), next comes the Global Sunrise.

From April 26th, 2010 trademark holders worldwide will be able to register a matching .co domain before it’s open to the public later on the year. The process will undergo a strict validation procedure, to ensure that all alleged trademark holders have the rights they claim over their trademarks. Deloitte has been assigned as the independent verifying agent to the process.

Because it is a global process, domains requested by verified applications will not instantly be assigned as a first-come first-served basis. Instead, once the Global Sunrise stage has finished, domains with more than one application will go to auction.

If you hold a trademark that was registered before June 30, 2008, you could be eligible to participate in the Global Sunrise and apply for your .co domain name from April 26th.

Stay tuned!

After completion of the first stage of .co domain registration in March, from today, April 1st (no joke!), registered trademarks can now buy their matching .co domain name. Keep in mind this second stage has been divided into two subsequent stages depending on where the trademark was registered:

1) April 1st – April 20th: .co domain registration is open to all trademarks registered in Colombia on or before June 30th, 2008.

2) April 26th – June 10th: .co domain registration is open to all trademarks registered worldwide on or before June 30th, 2008.

Registration is now possible with any available .co domain registrar.

If your trademark was registered after June 30th, 2008, you can register your .co domain at stages 3 or 4 (commercial interest and general availability), in June and July, respectively. For more information, please check the key dates.

If you own a .com.co domain (yourdomain.com.co) and if you have not benefited from the advantage of registering the matching .co domain (yourdomain.co), then… hurry up! Today is the last day you will have the priority to register it. You should have received a code sent to your administrative contact, that will enable you to register the new .co domain with any available registrar.

The Grandfathering process of .co domain registration began on March 1st, 2010 and ran throughout the whole month of March. From April 1st, all domains that were not registered during this period will not be longer reserved for current owners of .com.co domains and will be available to the general public from July 20, 2010.

Once this stage of the process is finished, a new stage will began on April 1st, during which all registered trademarks in Colombia can then register domains. From April 26th, this will be possible for trademarks registered worldwide.

More information coming. Stay tuned!

Last week, eNom (one of the biggest domain registrars in the world) announced  that it will be one of the exclusive registrars to sell .co domains. Enom feels very optimistic about the .co domain, and is offering its platform as a selling point for .co domain names.

eNom also mentioned that it is planning to support all the phases of the .co TLD relaunch (see Key Dates), which involve different phases in the process to start selling .co domains. Therefore you will be able to buy .co domain names directly with them.

“eNom is honored to be one of the ten Registrars selected to sell the .CO domain extension” said Chris Sheridan, VP of platform at eNom.

General .CO domain availability will start on July 2010, but you could secure your .co domain in advance. Manager of the .CO TLD, .CO Internet S.A.S., launched The .CO Founders Program earlier this week to give selected candidates the opportunity to register .co domains before they become available to the masses.

This is a tremendous opportunity, not only because you could choose your .co domain before most other people, thus securing an easy and memorable name, but also because you would benefit from .CO Internet marketing efforts, as your domain would be one of the first .CO domains operating globally.

If you want to become a .CO Founder, All you have to do is send your application by June 15, 2010 as indicated in The .CO Founder Program page.