01|14|2008 4:54 pm EDT
Afilias and Godaddy Partner with MeNet to Operate .me
According to a post found on Jothan Frake’s blog and Dutch Telecom (subscription required), the ccTLD .me will now be run by a join operation between Afilias, Godaddy and Montenegro’s MeNet.
The .me domain name is the country-code for Montenegro, but has obvious commercial appeal. The country had issued a public invitation to bid, which according to Frakes received 3 bids : Neustar, Verisign Registry Services and the winning bidders.
Upon a review of the requirements for companies bidding, Domain Name News noticed that the agent will be required to have “a platform for auction of domain names.” It can be safely assumed that the Godaddy/Afilias/MeNet group will seek to auction some of the premium .me domains.
Afilias and Godaddy have partnered recently with their bid to run the .US registry. However, the contract was awarded to Neustar instead.
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1 Comment
Enrico Schaefer
January 22, 2008 @ 8:52 am EDT
The big issue that we see is whether or not trademark holders will be provided a sunrise registration. Every time a new domain extension becomes available, the opportunity exists for cybersquatters to grab domains protected by trademarks in order to divert traffic. Godaddy hasn’t said whether or not it will be providing a sunrise registration period for trademark holders as has occurred when the .mobi and other extensions have become available. We think the sunrise period is important to at least give trademark holders an opportunity to protect their intellectual property. Of course, precautions have to be put in place to ensure otherwise generic domains are left available for domainers and anyone else wanting a fair shot at registration.