The new top level domain name for Europe, .eu, is anticipated to be launched in late 2005. The central registry for .eu is EURid. Once EURid has finalized negotiations with ICANN to put .eu in the root server, accredited .eu registrars can be appointed and only accredited registrars will be allowed to accept pre-registrations for .eu domain names. Please note that at this time it is not possible to register or pre-register an .eu domain name and there are currently no accredited .eu registrars. Accreditation of registrars is scheduled to commence May 2005.

Eligibility for .eu Domain Name Registration

Regulations EC 733/2002 and EC 874/2004, of the European Commission, establish the basis and procedure for registration. Only businesses having a registered office or principal place of business in the European Union (“EU”), organizations established in the EU, regardless of governing law, and citizens who are residents in EU member states will be permitted to register .eu domain names.

If an entity is the holder of a Community Trademark but is based outside the EU, it will not be entitled to register an .eu domain name. However, it will be able to do so through a licensee based in Europe, as a licensee can be considered a rights holder in phase one of the sunrise period discussed below. If an entity does not currently meet the residence requirements outlined above, there may still be time to become eligible if the entity acts now, for example by establishing a local presence through a subsidiary with a license agreement and an application for a national European trademark. In some European trademark registries, such as Benelux, Ireland, Germany and the UK, it may be possible to obtain trademark registration approval within a year. In other registries, such as Italy, Portugal and Spain, delays longer than a year are likely.

Sunrise Period

There is a two-phased sunrise period during which only public bodies and those with recognized prior rights to a name (for example, trademark holders) may register. Each phase will be two months long.

During phase one of the sunrise period, only holders of registered trademarks, holders of geographic indications and public bodies (including international organizations), will be permitted to register.

During phase two, those listed in phase one and all other rights holders protected under national law of member states (i.e. company names, business identifiers, unregistered trademarks) will be permitted to register.

During the sunrise period, an applicant will have to provide documentary evidence of its prior right to a domain name within 40 days of submitting an application. The documentary evidence will be authenticated by validation agents appointed by EURid. EURid has appointed PriceWaterhouseCoopers as validation agents for the sunrise period. If there is more than one application for the same domain name, the first application to be received and validated will be successful. Therefore, it will be very important for an applicant to have its proof of rights available when applying to register, as time will be of the essence.

After the sunrise period expires, registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Domain Technical Requirements

An .eu domain name must be a minimum of two characters among the letters a to z, numbers 0-9 and the hyphen. The domain name can only be a maximum of 63 characters and must not end or begin with a hyphen and the hyphen can not be in the third or fourth position.

Under Regulations EC 733/2002 and EC 874/2004 some names are blocked from being registered and some are reserved by institutions of the EU or governments of member states. A list of blocked names will be published once the European Community announces the list.

Registration Term and Costs

Registration will be for a term of one year, with automatic renewal on the anniversary date and deduction of renewal fees from a registrant’s account unless the registrant notifies EURid otherwise.

The fees are yet to be determined but will be based on the costs of validating the various types of rights. The proposed registration fee is EUR 10 (excluding VAT), which does not include fees charged by accredited registrars. Validation fees will be non-refundable.

Recommendations

Entities considering registration of an .eu domain name should perform an audit of existing trademarks to note which should be registered in the EU. An entity may wish to register an .eu domain name as a defensive strategy to stop a cybersquatter from registering that .eu domain name. Consideration should also be given to registering trade-marks, slogans, “sucks sites”, common misspellings and brand and product types with the .eu domain. If an entity is interested in registering an .eu domain name, it should compile its evidence of proof of rights in the EU as soon as possible. As noted above, time is of the essence and registrars will place applicants in a queue in the same order in which applications are received.

Please contact any member of our Technology and Intellectual Property Group to discuss registration of an .eu domain name.

Effective February 1, 2005, Clark, Wilson has become a limited liability partnership (LLP), as permitted by amendments to the Partnership Act. The firm is now known as Clark Wilson LLP, and you may notice that our logo has been updated to reflect the change.

As our new name suggests, the partnership now carries on the practice of law with a degree of limited liability. Each partner remains personally liable for his or her own actions, and the partnership continues to be liable for the negligence of its personnel. Accordingly, there is no reduction or limitation on partnership’s liability. However, an individual partner in a LLP is not personally liable for the negligence of another partner or an employee, unless he or she knew of the negligent act or omission and did not take reasonable steps to prevent it. The amendments to the Partnership Act bring BC more in line with other jurisdictions and our transition to a LLP will be an asset to us in continuing to recruit and retain strong legal talent.

This change will not affect our business practices or have any impact on our relationships with our clients. Our Managing Partner, Bill Helgason, or any of our lawyers would be pleased to answer any questions you have about this transition, or about LLP opportunities for your business.