British businesses lag behind Germans in charge for European domain name

Europe set for war over 40,000 domain name applications

January 26, 2006; 02:36 AM

London, 26 January 2006 - British businesses are lagging behind the Germans in the rush for the new .eu European domain. In the first 50 days since the registration period officially opened on 7 December 2005, the European domain name registry has received a total of 166,232 applications of which 52,636 originated in Germany. British businesses are lagging behind the Germans, Dutch and French having submitted just 15,819 applications.

Battle lines have been drawn for disputes over thousands of online trademarks. Of the 166,232 .eu applications, 121,985 were unique requests. The remaining 44,247 are potential domain name disputes where two or more parties have claimed they have a prior right or trademark to use that domain. NetNames, the UK's leading domain name specialist was one of the first accredited registrars for .eu, and is urging British businesses not to lose out to competitors and cybersquatters across Europe.

"The disputes have the potential to be very costly for the companies involved," says Jonathan Robinson, business development director, NetNames. "Many companies across Europe could have equal claim to a specific domain name but it's a case of first come, first served. Failure to get in before anyone else could result in a costly retrieval process."

Registration for the .eu domain name is currently only open to trademark and prior rights holders in the European Union. Applicants are required to submit documentary evidence of their right to the domain within 40 days of an application being made. Prior to 7 December official registrars such as NetNames were accepting pre-registrations which were processed by the registry in the order they were received.

Jonathan Robinson, business development director, NetNames comments: "The demand for .eu has been very strong, though it is worrying that British businesses are so far behind their European rivals in protecting their brands online. British companies must act quickly to ensure their online brands are protected across Europe. Applications are dealt with in the order they are received, so any delay could cause your brand significant damage if your trademarks and names are registered by another party."

NetNames manages the domain name portfolios for over 30 per cent of the FTSE 100 companies and is an accredited registrar for the new .eu European domain name. The new .eu European domain name costs £35 per annum.

Jonathan is available for interview on Thursday 26 January and Friday 27 January and can offer examples of which are becoming the most disputed .eu domains. Please call Ivan Ristic on 0207 608 4647 to arrange an interview.

European .eu top ten
1. Germany 34.7%
2. The Netherlands 15.6%
3. France 13.4%
4. United Kingdom 10.4%
5. Italy 5.7%
6. Belgium 5.6%
7. Sweden 4.4%
8. Spain 3.9%
9. Austria 3.2%
10. Switzerland 3.2%

About NetNames

NetNames is part of London listed Group NBT plc (LSE: NBT). Through its industry leading domain name management solution, NetNames Platinum Service, the company is responsible for managing and protecting online brands for international corporates, including in excess of 30% of the FTSE 100. NetNames is an ICANN Accredited Registrar with the ability to register domain names in all available suffixes worldwide.  For further information, visit www.netnames.com.