Wednesday, December 30, 2015

What will it be: ".MOTORCYLES" or ".MOTO" ?

www.miles.club
The .MOTORCYLES new gTLD
...will launch soon
The Sunrise Period for the .MOTORCYCLES new domain name extension was just announced and we are all happy about this but did you know that there are other new gTLD applications for motorcycles?

3 other applications related to motorbikes
There was another applicant interested in offering fans of motorbikes a shorter kind of domain names ending in ".moto". It is noticeable that it is:
  1. shorter;
  2. a singular version of a domain name extension.
As a motorcycle fan (most of the time riding a bicycle unfortunately), I would rather have chosen a shorter name ending in ".moto" instead of a longer one in its plural version as a choice for a domain name. If you (had) planned to develop a website, which domain name would you have chosen: www.whatever.moto or www.whatever.motorcycles ?

This applicant, United TLD Holdco Ltd., which now has a different name by the way, had to withdraw its application because of...Google. If "because" may not be appropriate because I love the world of Trademarks, the reason of this withdrawal is because "moto" is a Trademark too: a Trademark which belongs to Google.

Google applied for the .MOTO new gTLD
The third applicant, Charleston Road Registry Inc., is the legal entity to operate new domain name extensions belonging to Google. It applied for the .MOTO new gTLD and prevailed in contention against the application of the other .MOTO applicant: United TLD Holdco Ltd.

It will be ".motorcyles" or...nothing
(...or an old ".com")
It will not be possible to register domain names ending in ".moto" because the .MOTO extension is a Trademark and it is reserved to the use of its owner:
Charleston Road Registry intends to operate the proposed gTLD as a closed registry with Google as the sole registrar and Motorola Mobility and its affiliates as the sole registrants. (Hereafter, any references to Motorola Mobility as the exclusive registrant shall include its affiliates.) The goal of the proposed gTLD is to allow Motorola Mobility to manage the domain name space for its offerings. The proposed gTLD will provide Motorola Mobility with the ability to customize its domain and website names for its offerings to signal to the general population of Internet users that its .moto websites are indeed managed by Motorola Mobility.  
Fans of motorcyles will have the opportunity to register domain names ending in ".motorcyles" soon with Nameshield.

Nameshield Corporate Registrar: Corporate domain name portfolio management
The Nameshield Group: Registry, Corporate and Retail Registrar

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

Sunrise Periods ending in January 2016

www.yacht.club
The launching of a new domain name extension often starts with a Sunrise Period. The Sunrise Period is a good opportunity for a Trademark owner to register a domain name upfront and before anyone else. To do so, it is required to have a prior right and register in the Trademark Clearinghouse.

In January 2016, many Sunrise Periods end:
  1. .FEEDBACK new gTLD : 6 of January;
  2. .OFFICE : 6 of January;
  3. .FAMILY : 9 of January;
  4. .CARS : 12 of January;
  5. .CAR : 12 of January;
  6. .AUTO : 12 of January;
  7. .LASALLE : 14 of January;
  8. .CLOUD : 15 of January;
  9. .WINE : 16 of January;
  10. .VIN : 16 of January;
  11. .THEATRE : 19 of January;
  12. .SECURITY : 19 of January;
  13. .PROTECTION : 19 of January;
  14. .コム (com) : 31 of January;
  15. .YACHTS : 31 of January.
Participate in actual Sunrise Periods with the Nameshield Group.


Nameshield Corporate Registrar: Corporate domain name portfolio management
The Nameshield Group: Registry, Corporate and Retail Registrar

Most recent Trademark Clearinghouse Sunrise Period announcements

.BRAND new gTLD Reports are updated once a month: CLICK HERE !