New gTLD Update – Launch of .GAY, .SHOP promotion, re-launch .FANS

Launch of .GAY

The Registry Operator Top Level Design has announced the launch of its new gTLD .GAY as follows:

This launch programme includes two Sunrise phases. The first is a usual Sunrise period, reserved for holders of Trade Marks which are recorded in the Trademark Clearinghouse. The second Sunrise period is reserved for the owners of Trade Marks not recorded at the Clearinghouse. Domains applied for must be identical or confusingly similar to the registered Trade Mark. The Registry Service Provider, CentralNic, will verify Trade Marks from WIPO, the US PTO, the UK IPO and the EU IPO. Trade Mark registrations from other territories will be considered on a case-by-case basis so long as they can be verified using “reasonable commercial means”. Domain applications made during the second Sunrise period will be reserved until the Trade Mark can be verified, at which time the domain will be registered.

Domains registered during either of the Sunrise phases will automatically have a bundle of 10 confusingly similar Latin IDN domains reserved at the same time. These 10 domains are reserved for 1 year, and if you should wish to keep any or all of them, then they can be converted into registrations for the price tier associated with General Availability. The variants are generated by an algorithm but it is possible to request an alteration to the variants reserved. Additionally, one year of Registry Lock will be included for Sunrise Registrations, without incurring a Registry fee. Thereafter, and for domains registered in the Early Access Phase or General Availability, Registry Lock will incur charges. Sunrise registrants also have the opportunity to opt-in to have the Sunrise domain registration included in the Registry’s global PR campaign.

The .GAY Registry will be donating 20% of the registration revenue to LGBTQ charitable partners, including GLAAD and CenterLink. The Registry also have a .gay Rights Protection Policy in place and require us to state “the use of .gay for anti-LGBTQ content or to malign or harm LGBTQ individuals or groups is strictly prohibited and can result in immediate server-hold. Prohibited behaviour includes harassment, threats and hate speech”. The full Policy can be viewed here.

New registration pricing promotion for .SHOP

Registry operator GMO Registry, Inc. has announced that it is running a pricing promotion on new registrations of .SHOP domains from 1 January 2020 to 31 January 2020. New registrations will be offered at the reduced fee of USD 1.50 for the first year of registration only. The discount does not apply to premium names. Com Laude fees and the ICANN USD 0.18 per domain year levy are additional and VAT will be added where applicable.

Re-launch of .FANS

The contract to run the new gTLD .FANS has been reassigned the Registry Operator ZDNS. They are re-launching the TLD on 24 February 2020 with registration and renewal prices being reduced. Existing registrations will continue to renew at the current price. Com Laude fees and the ICANN USD 0.18 per domain year levy are additional and VAT will be added where applicable.

Should you wish to place an order, or for further information, please contact your Client Manager or admin@comlaude.com