Corporate domain name management - eBrand Services

Early Signs Of .CO Success With Over a Quarter Million Registrations in Two Days

The relaunch of the .CO ccTLD has gone extraordinarily well with over a quarter of a million registrations within the first two days of general availability. The Colombian ccTLD has been relaunched as a joint venture between Arcelandia S.A., a wholly-owned Colombian company, and the US company Neustar, Inc, for the purpose of developing and operating the .CO Internet registry. This new partnership will be responsible for the promotion, administration, and technical operation of the .CO TLD.

The launch followed a Sunrise Period for trademark holders and a Landrush Period for those interested in names of high commercial value. Domain names are now available to the public on a first come, first served basis with second and third level domain names available to all.

Promotions for the launch have often centred on .CO as an alternative to .COM due to the difficulty for many in getting their preferred .COM domain. And to ensure they get their name before anyone else, many global companies have registered their .CO names – 39,000 of them in fact. Companies who applied for their name during the “pre-launch” phase included 70 per cent of the brands listed in the Brand Finance Top 500, including Amazon, American Express, Apple, BMW, Cartier, Canon, CNN, Coca-Cola, Disney, eBay, Exxon, Ford, Google, Hilton, Honda, IBM, IKEA, Kodak, McDonalds, Microsoft, MTV, Nestle, Nike, Nokia, Panasonic, Pfizer, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Toyota, Unilever, Visa and Yahoo.

There have been worries from trademark holders and their representative associations that cybersquatters would register domains and make life difficult for trademark holders. But for greater peace of mind the registry has implemented procedures they say will ensure a greater measure of safety and security for its user’s online intellectual property.

Some examples they give include that other TLDs allow proxy registrations or otherwise obfuscate the domain owner’s information, making it extremely difficult to identify potential domain squatters, trademark infringers or other fraudsters. .CO domain ownership will be highly transparent, which will deter those who seek to use the domain for fraudulent or abusive practices. .CO Internet has also instituted a Rapid Takedown Policy to suspend or remove domains in cases where phishing, pharming, malware, or other significant criminal and/or security threats have been established.

“We’ve invested heavily in technologies and processes that address the needs of the business and Internet communities for greater brand protection and overall security,” said Nicolai Bezsonoff, chief operating officer, .CO Internet. “With so much promise and expectation riding on the success of the .CO domain, protecting the reputations, brands and businesses of our users is a top priority.”

There has also been one high profile sale of a .CO name with Overstock.com, the online retailer, buying O.CO for $350,000. This is one of the 2,000 or so premium domain names the registry has withheld, most of which will be auctioned to help promote and maintain the .CO domain.

However to determine the success of the ccTLD will take some time. For now many companies have registered their names, but whether they use them for a local presence, for specific marketing projects or register them just to ensure nobody else can remains to be seen.

Another issue to consider is recognition of .CO as a form of generic extension along the lines of .COM. Should .CO come to be widely recognised by the general public, and this will in part happen if companies use their .CO name rather that just using it to redirect to their .COM or other main domain, then it should prove successful.

But for many small businesses struggling to get a .COM domain name they like, .CO could prove a good alternative.