.TEL Domains
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Sunrise FAQS - NOW CLOSED. This period has ended.
For General FAQs about .TEL and the registration process click here.
How much will a .TEL Sunrise application cost?
The price for Sunrise registration is $399. This includes a 3-year registration of your domain.
What information do I need to include with my Sunrise application?
When registering for your domain during this period, you will be required to provide the following information regarding your trademark:
- Trademark Name (name for which an Eligible Trademark is claimed)
- Trademark Country (country, region, locality or organization where in the Eligible Trademark is registered (in accordance with the WIPO ST.3 standard)). * The Trademark Country CODE for the applicant's country as identified by WIPO can be found at the following link:
WIPO Recommended Standard On Two-Letter Codes - Trademark Application Date (date on which you first applied for your trademark). Please note, this field is optional; however, providing this information may prevent validation problems with your application. The information may be used to ensure your application was applied for prior to May 30, 2008.
- Trademark Registration Date (date on which the Eligible Trademark was registered (not applied for) by the competent trademark office (as shown on certificate / public record)).
- Trademark Registration number (current registration number of the Eligible Trademark)
- Applicant capacity (the capacity of the Sunrise Applicant i.e. owner, licensee or assignee of the Eligible Trademark). Following is an example:
Trademark Name: TELNIC
Trademark Country: US
Registration Number: 3016570
Registration Date: 2005-11-22
Applicant Capacity: Owner
When will I receive updates on the status of my Sunrise Application?
For updates as to where your application is in the submission and validation process, please visit the Telnic site. We will send you an email when the final status of your application has been decided.
What documentation is needed for Sunrise?
Documentation is only needed if the Validation Agent requests further information. This request will be made to the sponsoring registrar.
What is the .TEL Sunrise period?
The Sunrise period runs from 7:00am PST, December 3, 2008 to 3:59pm PST on February 2, 2009. During this time trademark owners can submit an application for a .TEL domain name. Please refer to the Sunrise Policy for more information.
For what term can I buy a .TEL domain?
.TEL domains purchased during the Sunrise and Landrush registration periods are registered for a 3-year fixed term. .TEL domains purchased during the General Availability registration period may be registered from one to ten years.
My Sunrise application was approved. When will I gain access to my new .TEL domain?
.TEL domains will begin to resolve starting March 23, 2009. You will be provided with login credentials for your new domain on or after this date.
Can I extend my Sunrise or Landrush registration period beyond three (3) years?
The initial registration term for a Sunrise or Landrush .TEL registration is three years. If you would like to extend your registration beyond the initial three years, you can add additional years to your registration beginning March 24, 2009. You may also be required to wait 30 days after your initial domain registration date before you can extend your registration period. You may extend your registration by renewing your domain in the Account Management tool. Your .TEL domain may be registered for a period up to 10 years.
Are there restrictions on the structure of my .TEL domain name?
The minimum number of characters in a .TEL domain is 3 and the maximum number is 63, not including the .TEL suffix. Every domain must contain at least one letter from a-z or "A to Z" in standard US ASCII script. No domain may begin or end with a hyphen, nor can a domain have a hyphen in the 3rd or 4th character position. A .TEL domain may not consist purely of digits. The .TEL naming conventions are described in detail in the Acceptable Use Policy.
How do I resolve a dispute regarding a .TEL domain name?
.TEL domain names are subject to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), which establishes a procedure for resolving many trademark disputes relating to domain names. More information on the UDRP is available.
Can I transfer or sell a .TEL domain name during the Sunrise period?
No. The transfer or sale of a .TEL domain name is not permitted until General Availability begins March 24, 2009.
Are you allowed to register different spellings of a trademark in Sunrise?
No, all Sunrise applications must be identical to all text or word elements contained in the eligible trademark.
Who verifies .tel Sunrise applications?
A Validation Agent verifies all Sunrise applications. Telnic has chosen Deloitte to perform validation.
Is there a challenge period for Sunrise applications?
Yes, there is a challenge period of 10 calendar days following the date of publication of the validation results in the online database. This will be done through the Validation Agent, Deloitte.
Can I receive a refund on my Sunrise registration?
After your Sunrise application is submitted to TELNIC (beginning December 3, 2008), your credit card will be charged the $399 Sunrise application fee. No refunds will be allowed at this point.
Who will process the Trademark Verification.TEL domains?
Deloitte, the Validation Agency selected by TELNIC.
If my .TEL Sunrise application is not submitted by TELNIC to Deloitte will I receive a refund?
Yes. If Telnic notifies us that your application was not submitted to Deloitte, we will refund your money.
What if my trademark is registered in the European Union (EU) or is a European Community Trade Mark (EU CTM)?
When applying for Sunrise registration, you will be asked to provide your "Trademark Country". If your trademark is registered in the European Union (EU) or is a European Community Trade Mark (EU CTM), please select the option "Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market". This is the WIPO standard for European Union (EU) and European Community Trade Mark (EU CTM) offices.
As a Trademark holder, why should I apply for a .TEL domain name during the Sunrise period?
No. The Sunrise period is only for Eligible trademark holders. Submitting an application during the Sunrise period without meeting the trademark requirements will result in a non-refundable charge of $399. If you would like to submit your .TEL domain request early but do not hold an Eligible trademark, you may still pre-register your request to be submitted during the Landrush period.
Why should a Trademark holder apply for their .TEL domain name during the Sunrise period?
In order to protect your trademarks, you are encouraged to register your .TEL domain during the Sunrise period. This will ensure your best chance of successfully registering your trademarks as .TEL domain names. As .TEL domains are not Website-based and do not allow for Web page customization with logos and visual identifiers, registering your trademark as a .TEL domain will help prevent your trademark from being used by others.
Where can I find the Trademark information I will need to submit my .TEL Sunrise application?
Here are a few of the country-specific sites where you can find this information:
- United Kingdom
- Benelux Office for Intellectual Property
- Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market
- World Intellectual Property Organization
Who can apply during the Sunrise period?
- The Registered owner of an Eligible Trademark will be eligible to file a corresponding Sunrise Application;
- a licensee of an Eligible Trademark duly authorized by the relevant registered owner will be eligible to file a corresponding Sunrise Application, provided that the Sunrise Application includes a certification from the registered owner of the Eligible Trademark (in the form provided by the Registry) that the licensee is entitled to the file the Sunrise Application corresponding to the Eligible Trademark; and
- an assignee of an Eligible Trademark will be eligible to file a corresponding Sunrise Application, provided that the Sunrise Application includes a certification from the registered owner of the Eligible Trademark (in the form provided by the Registry) that the assignee is the owner of the Eligible Trademark.
What is an Eligible Trademark?
An "Eligible Trademark" is a trademark or service mark that has been registered, where the registration meets the following criteria:
- the registration is issued by the competent public authority or intergovernmental organization referred to in the Sunrise Application;
- the registration has national effect (see National Effect below for definition);
- the application for such registration is filed prior to the May 30, 2008; and
- the trademark or service mark was registered prior to the date that the corresponding Sunrise Application is submitted to the Registry.
What is National Effect?
A trademark registration "having national effect" means that the registration is issued by a trademark registration authority having jurisdiction over an entire nation, such as:
- national trademarks and service marks;
- Benelux trademarks; and
- Community trademarks.
What are considered Ineligible Trademarks?
- trademarks or service marks for which an application for registration has been filed, but is not actually registered (or received a "registered" status) by the competent public authority or intergovernmental organization referred to in the Sunrise Application, or has lapsed, been withdrawn, revoked or otherwise is no longer in full force and effect by the time the Sunrise Application is validated by the Validation Agent;
- unregistered (including common law) trademarks or service marks;
- US state trademarks or service marks;
- International applications made through the Madrid system, unless these are based on or have resulted in a registered trademark or national effect as described above; and
- any other rights to a sign or a name, including Domain Names.
Are there Syntax requirements for domain names applied for during the Sunrise Period?
- Domain Names applied for during the Sunrise Period are subject to the same syntax requirements as described in the Acceptable Use Policy.
- During the Sunrise Period, the Domain Name applied for must be identical to all text or word elements contained in the Eligible Trademark.
- .TEL domain names can be between 3 and 63 characters long. It cannot have spaces.
Exceptions:
- If the trademark invoked by the Sunrise Applicant includes one or more spaces between words, the spaces may be removed entirely or replaced with a hyphen;
- If the trademark invoked by the Sunrise Applicant includes a special character (such as -, @, !, %, ^, ©, or &), these characters may, at the Sunrise Applicant's option, be:
- eliminated entirely from the Domain Name; or
- transcribed; or
- replaced with a hyphen. (Note: a hyphen cannot be used in the 3rd or 4th position of the domain name. E.G ab-cd.tel or abc-d.tel)
- If the Eligible Trademark includes ASCII letters with certain additional elements that do not exist in standard Latin script (such as "ä "é" or "ñ"), such letters may be:
- reproduced without such elements ("a", "e", "n"); or
- replaced by conventionally accepted spellings, (such as "ae").
Can I apply for the Sunrise period based on figurative Signs and Logos?
A Sunrise application may be based on a figurative sign or logo that is protected by an Eligible Trademark if the Validation Agent determines that the following conditions are satisfied:
- the sign exclusively contains a name, or
- the word element is predominant, and can be clearly separated or distinguished from the device element, provided in each case that:
- all alphanumeric characters (including hyphens, if any) included in the Eligible Trademark are contained in the Domain Name applied for, in the same order as that in which they appear in the sign, and
- the general impression of the word is apparent, without any reasonable possibility of misreading the characters of which the sign consists or the order in which those characters appear.
How will the Validation Agent(s) validate a Sunrise Application?
In most instances, when validating a Sunrise Application, the Validation Agent will rely on the information published by the trademark offices of the countries, regions or localities identified in the Sunrise Application. In some circumstances, however, the Validation Agent may request additional Documentary Evidence, as described in the "Documentary Evidence" section.
Documentary Evidence:
By submitting a Sunrise Application, the Sunrise Applicant agrees that, if requested by the Validation Agent, it will provide Documentary Evidence to verify the information in the Sunrise Application. For example, additional Documentary Evidence will be required if the Eligible Trademark invoked in the Sunrise Application is not registered in a country or region, or by an Organization, in the following list:
- Australia (AU)
- Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BX)
- Canada (CA)
- Germany (DE)
- Ireland (IE)
- Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (EM)
- United Kingdom (GB)
- United States of America (US)
- The World Intellectual Property Organization (WO)
What if I cannot provide the Documentary Evidence?
Documentary Evidence must be provided in accordance with the Validation Agent's instructions and timeframes. If the Current Sunrise Applicant does not provide the Documentary Evidence in time or such Documentary Evidence is incomplete or inaccurate the Validation Agent is entitled to determine that the Sunrise Application is not in accordance with the Sunrise Policy and reject the registration.
Are there requirements/standards for the Documentary Evidence?
Any Documentary Evidence submitted to the Validation Agent needs to meet at least the following standards:
- The Documentary Evidence must be submitted as an electronic file in .PDF format and a maximum size of 1 Mb;
- Electronic documents must be in DIN A4 or Letter standard layout;
- The contents must be humanly readable; and
- The Documentary Evidence must not be retouched or otherwise altered.
English Translation: The Validation Agent may request an English translation of any Documentary Evidence that is not written in the English language.
What if more than one application is received for the same domain name? If more than one Sunrise Application is submitted for a particular Domain Name, then:
- the Registry will submit the first complete Sunrise Application received by the Registry (based on the time stamp for such Application) to the Validation Agent; and
- if a Sunrise Application submitted for validation is rejected, then the Registry will submit the next complete Sunrise Application received by the Registry (based on the time stamp for such Application) to the Validation Agent.
Note: If no more than one Sunrise Application is submitted for a particular Domain Name, then the Registry will submit that Application to the Validation Agent.
How does the Validation Process work?
Upon request of the Registry, the Validation Agent will attempt to verify that:
- the Sunrise Application submitted during the Sunrise Period refers to an
Eligible Trademark, based on a prima facie review of
- the data contained in the Sunrise Application
- the data published by the trademark office or other applicable official organization referred to in the Sunrise Application in a no cost, freely-accessible, official online database that reproduces the information referred to in the Documentary Evidence and/or
- absent such freely-accessible online database, the Documentary Evidence provided by the Sunrise Applicant;
- the Domain Name corresponds to the designation protected by such Eligible Trademark; and
- the Current Sunrise Applicant is the registered owner of the Eligible Trademark or, if the Current Sunrise Applicant claims to be a licensee authorized to use the Eligible Trademark by the registered owner of the Eligible Trademark or the assignee of such Eligible Trademark, that the registered owner of the Eligible Trademark has submitted the certification from the registered owner of the Eligible Trademark (in the form provided by the Registry) that the licensee is entitled to file the Sunrise Application corresponding to the Eligible Trademark; and identifying the Current Sunrise Applicant as a licensee authorized to file the Sunrise Application.
The Validation Agent will then inform the Registry of its findings. If the Validation Agent is unable to validate the Sunrise Application, the Registry will reject that Sunrise Application.
The Registry will continue to submit Sunrise Applications, if any, for any Domain Name to the Validation Agent, until the earlier of
- the point at which a Sunrise Application is accepted for that Domain or
- all Sunrise Applications for that Domain name have been rejected.
If my Sunrise Application is rejected can I apply for Reconsideration?
You may commence a "Sunrise Reconsideration Proceeding" following application of a Request for Reconsideration to the Validation Agent and payment of the Reconsideration Fee to the Registry, both to be within ten (10) calendar days following publication of the validation results in the Sunrise Application Database. The procedures and templates to be used when filing a Request for Reconsideration will be published on the Validation Agent's Web site from time to time. A Request for Reconsideration that does not follow those procedures and templates will not be accepted.
How much is the Reconsideration Fee?
The registry charges a flat rate of $800 for reconsidering your Sunrise application. We will submit your reconsideration application and alert you as to their response at no additional charge.
Are there Qualifications for a "Sunrise Reconsideration Proceeding"?
A "Sunrise Reconsideration Proceeding" can only be initiated by the following parties on the basis of the following assertions:
- By a Current Sunrise Applicant whose Sunrise Application has been rejected by the Validation Agent (the "Appellant"), based on an assertion that:
- based on the information in the Sunrise Application in question and any Documentary Evidence submitted to the Validation Agent, the Validation Agent should have accepted the Sunrise Application.
- By any third party (including other Sunrise Applicants) (the "Complainant"), based on an assertion that:
- for the Sunrise Application in question, the Current Sunrise Applicant is not the registered owner of the Eligible Trademark registration on which the Sunrise Application is based and is not a licensee of such registered owner with authorization to file the Sunrise Application;
- the Domain Name applied for by the Current Sunrise Applicant is not identical to the Eligible Trademark invoked in the Sunrise Application, save in respect of any permitted exceptions such as; if the trademark invoked by the Sunrise Applicant includes one or more spaces between words, the spaces may be removed entirely or replaced with a hyphen; or if the trademark invoked by the Sunrise Applicant includes a special character (such as -, @, !, §, %, ^, © or &), these characters may, at the Sunrise Applicant's option, be: eliminated entirely from the Domain Name; or transcribed; or replaced with a hyphen.
- the trademark invoked by the Current Sunrise Applicant is not an Eligible Trademark.
Will I need to submit additional Documentary Evidence for a "Sunrise Reconsideration Proceeding"?
In the case of a Request for Reconsideration, the Validation Agent may, in its sole discretion, request additional Documentary Evidence from the Appellant or the Complainant. Documentary Evidence must be provided in accordance with the Validation Agent's instructions and timeframes, via the registrar; and must meet the following standards:
- The Documentary Evidence must be submitted as an electronic file in .PDF format and a maximum size of 1 Mb;
- Electronic documents must be in DIN A4 or Letter standard layout;
- The contents must be humanly readable; and
- The Documentary Evidence must not be retouched or otherwise altered.
If the Documentary Evidence requested by the Validation Agent is not provided in time or such Documentary Evidence is incomplete or inaccurate the Validation Agent is entitled to reject the Request for Reconsideration.
What if my request for a "Sunrise Reconsideration Proceeding" is rejected?
If, after review of the Request for Reconsideration and any information provided by the party that submitted the Request for Reconsideration, the Validation Agent determines that the Sunrise Application in question did not meet the criteria laid down in this Sunrise Policy, the Validation Agent will notify the Registry. Upon receipt of such notice, the Registry will reject the applicable Sunrise Application with no refund of any fees or any other liability to the Current Sunrise Applicant. If the Registry rejects a Sunrise Application; the Validation Agent will then proceed to process, in accordance with the Sunrise Policy, the next Sunrise Application received by the Registry for the same Domain Name, if any.
What happens if my request for a "Sunrise Reconsideration Proceeding" is accepted?
If, after review of the Request for Reconsideration, the Validation Agent determines that the Sunrise Application in question met the criteria laid down in this Sunrise Policy, the Validation Agent will notify the Registry. Upon receipt of such notice, if no other Requests for Reconsideration of the Sunrise Application are pending, the Registry will accept the applicable Sunrise Application with no refund of any fees or any other liability to the Current Sunrise Applicant.
Can I apply for a second "Sunrise Reconsideration Proceeding" if the initial "Sunrise Reconsideration Proceeding" is rejected?
The Appellant or Complainant in any Request for Reconsideration for a given Sunrise Application shall accept as final the determination of the Validation Agent with respect to the Request for Reconsideration. Notwithstanding the above, there may be subsequent Requests for Reconsideration from further Complainants. Requests for Reconsideration from multiple Complainants for the same Sunrise Application will be processed sequentially in the order that they were filed with the Registry.
If registered a domain during Sunrise and/or Landrush, what date will be considered my official registration date?
All domains registered prior to 3/24/2009 during the Sunrise or Landrush periods will receive an official registration start date of 3/24/2009 and a default expiration date of 3/23/2012.
