News

We have received a significant increase of enquiries since Dot Kiwi’s application to run .KIWI was approved by ICANN.  One of the most common questions we get asked is: Can I register my trademark as a .KIWI domain?

The answer to that is - generally speaking, yes you can. However, the more pertinent question is: as a trademark holder can I get advance priority to register my trademark as a .KIWI domain? We can confirm that there will be a special “first in line” phase for trademark holders to register their marks. This period is called the Sunrise period and will operate for a period of no less than 30 days, it will occur prior to when .KIWI domains are available to the general public.

What is the process to protect my trademark?

To participate in the .KIWI Sunrise period, you will need to submit your trademark(s) to what is known as the Trademark Clearinghouse (TCH). The TCH will be an “opt-in”, centralised and universal database of trademarks wanting rights protection under any of the new generic Top Level Domains (e.g. .KIWI). The TCH will also be used to verify the trademark details and ensure the trademark is valid.

In addition to the Sunrise period, there is the Trademark Claims Service. The Trademark Claims service will run for a period of 60 days* from the time that .KIWI domains are available to the public. The Trademark Claims service works like this:  When a prospective registrant wants to register “yourtrademark.kiwi” as a domain name, they will receive a warning message prior to registration advising them of your trademark and the scope of your rights. The prospective registrant can choose to acknowledge the warning, but still proceed with the registration. If the registrant chooses to complete the registration, then you as the trademark holder will be notified of the newly registered domain, at which point you can decide what actions you wish to take, if any.

Ok, I want to protect my trademark, what now?

If you’re a valid trademark holder that has been registered with IPONZ, or in another recognised jurisdiction, you are eligible to protect your mark as a .KIWI domain name.  You have two options when deciding how to make use of this protection:

1. Contact your Intellectual Property Attorney, or your Trademark Agent. If you’re not sure who this is, search for your trademark at IPONZ and your Trademark Agent will be listed there.

2. Contact Dot Kiwi Ltd directly. We are an authorised agent of the Trademark Clearinghouse and can take care of the paperwork for you, ensuring the most simple and easy process for you. Please contact us to find out how easy and affordable it is to register your trademark as a .KIWI domain.

I’m still not sure, can I see more information please?

For further information about Dot Kiwi’s plans for rights holder protection, please do not hesitate to contact us. However, you can also find out more information on ICANN’s website here: http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/about/trademark-clearinghouse or you can visit the Clearinghouse website directly here.

A video describing the role of Dot Kiwi and the Trademark Clearinghouse can be viewed here:

*It is possible that Dot Kiwi will choose to extend the Trademark Claims service to a period longer than 60 days.