Hundreds of global brand names like BMW, American Express and Ziff Davis are understood to have signed up for the .Mobi domain. Run from Dublin, .Mobi is the only top level internet domain for mobile phones in the world.
It is understood that .Mobi has extended the period for trademarks and owners of intellectual property to register their domain until 22 September to accommodate additional brands. The sunrise period for registering mobile domains for registered trademarks began on 12 June last and was due to close on 28 August.
“The extension of the trademark registration period to 22 September is a welcomed initiative by .Mobi as it provides trademark holders with additional and much needed time to decide upon and organise 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 .Mobi domain opened for business from Dublin on 23 May last. The organisation responsible for the domain .mobi is backed by a consortium of tech industry giants including Microsoft, HP, Vodafone, 3, the GSM Association, Orange, Nokia, Samsung and Sun.
According to .Mobi, trademark owners and brand managers around the world requested additional time, given summer holidays and third-quarter budget planning.
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 .Mobi. “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 26 September next.
By John Kennedy
