dotMobi Announces Extension of Trademark Registration

By Derek Iwasiuk
DomainInformer.com
July 10, 2006

DUBLIN, Ireland - dotMobi, the first and only Internet address created for mobile phones, today announced it is extending the Trademark Sunrise Registration period to September 22. Trademark Sunrise Registration provides owners of intellectual property (IP) an opportunity to register their trademarks as .mobi Top Level Domain names.

"The extension of the Trademark Registration period to September 22 is a welcomed initiative by dotMobi as it provides trademark holders with additional and much needed time to decide upon and organize their domain name applications based upon eligible trademarks," said David Taylor, partner and head of the domain name practice at Lovells, an international law firm.

Taylor added, "Importantly, applications should be filed carefully using eligible trademarks in the name of the trademark holder to prevent potential rejection."

The Trademark Sunrise period launched successfully on June 12 with hundreds of global brands -- from American Express to Ziff Davis Publishing -- registering .mobi domains. Trademark owners and brand managers around the world requested additional time, given summer holidays and third-quarter budget planning.

For Trademark Sunrise Registration, a qualified trademark owner is anyone who holds a trademark or service mark applied for prior to July 11, 2005 and granted before the date of the domain name application.

Among those registered to date, the highest number of trademark .mobi domain names are in the entertainment and media outlets, with fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and technology trademark holders following. In late 2006 and early 2007, mobile Internet users will see the benefits when content and services have been developed across the board.

"We're excited to see leading companies like BMW go live with bmw.mobi and neckermann.de go live with neckermann.mobi in the last two weeks," said Neil Edwards, CEO of dotMobi. "We are extending the Trademark Sunrise period so that all brand owners around the world will have the entire summer to make their brand go mobile with .mobi domains."

The general public will be able to register their .mobi domain names starting September 26, 2006.

The list of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) accredited registrars for dotMobi domain names can be found at: http://pc.mtlddotMobi/switched/findaregistrar.html.

dotMobi Backed by Industry

Backed by many of the world's leading mobile operators, handset manufacturers and software developers, dotMobi (the informal name of mTLD Top Level Domain, Ltd.) was designated as the official worldwide registry for the dotMobi domain by ICANN in July 2005.

dotMobi is working closely with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), registrars, copyright bodies and site owners to ensure that trademarks are properly protected during the sunrise period.

For more information on dotMobi domains and registration information, visit http://mtld.mobi . Visit the dotMobi blog at http://blog.mobi.

About dotMobi

dotMobi (the informal name of mTLD Top Level Domain, Ltd.), a joint venture company based in Dublin, Ireland with offices in Washington, DC, is leading the development of Internet usage from mobile phones by switching on the dotMobi domain name. Unique among domain name providers, dotMobi ensures that services and sites developed around dotMobi are optimized for use by mobile devices. On-the-go consumers can have confidence that the Internet site or service will work from their mobile device when using the dotMobi address.

dotMobi is backed by leading mobile operators, network and device manufacturers, and Internet content providers, including Ericsson, GSM Association, Hutchison 3, Microsoft, Nokia, Orascom Telecom, Samsung Electronics, Syniverse, T-Mobile, Telefonica Moviles, TIM and Vodafone. dotMobi is also a sponsor of W3C's Mobile Web Initiative.

Contact: Danielle Siemon of Edelman Public Relations, +1-650-429-2739, or [email protected], for dotMobi; or Vance Hedderel of dotMobi (mobile Top Level Domain, Ltd.), +1-703-485-5563, or [email protected].