Online Security, a global provider of computer forensics and information technology risk mitigation since 1997   Original Source:    http://www.bakerlaw.com IP Vulnerability caused by ".US" Domain Author:  Marc Greenberg EXECUTIVE ALERT 2/21/2002 Launch of the .US Domain Announced NeuStar Registry Services announced the launch of the .US domain. .US is the official country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United States within the global domain name system (DNS). Any United States citizen or resident, as well as businesses or organizations, including federal, state, and local governments with a bona-fide presence in the United States can register a .US domain name. Although registration is slated to begin sometime April 2002, an announcement on Febuary 13, 2002 indicated that the first phase of registration could begin as early as March 4, 2002. Sunrise Period: The Sunrise Period will begin on March 4, 2002. During the Sunrise Period, owners of existing or pending United States trademarks can submit a claim form for each domain name in which the trademark owner claims rights. The Sunrise Period is limited to owners of trademarks that were either registered or pending on the Principal Register with the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") prior to July 27, 2001. The domain for which an application is submitted must be identical to the trademark application or registration on the file with the USPTO. The USPTO information provided by the applicant in the domain name application will be checked by the registrar. The Sunrise Period is scheduled to end on April 9, 2002. There is no fee for a domain name application during the Sunrise Period. The retail prices for .US domain names will be established by .US-Accredited Registrars. The pricing structure will be an annual subscription fee with the choice for multi-year subscriptions. The fee information is not available at this time. All .US domain name applications submitted during the Sunrise Period must contain the following information: · Requested .US domain name; · Exact trademark; · Date of application or registration of the trademark; · Trademark's application or registration number; · Trademark's international class; · Names, addresses, telephone numbers,fax numbers and e-mail addresses of the domain name registrant, administrative contact, technical contact and billing representative (Name of domain name registrant must be the same as name of applicant or owner of trademark application or registration); · Name servers and their associated IP addresses; · Written confirmation of compliance with U.S. TLD Nexus requirement (discussed in more detail below). Random Selection Process: Since there may be more than one qualified applicant for a given domain name during the Sunrise Period, domain names will be selected through the Random Selection Process. The Random Selection Process will begin on April 10, 2002. The list of domain names submitted to each Registrar will be merged to eliminate duplicate requests for the same trademark application or registration. The domain names will then be selected at random and will be registered with NeuStar. After the Random Selection Process is completed on April 23, 2002, registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Although registration is not restricted, all .US domain name applicants are expected to meet the U.S. Nexus Requirement. To be in compliance with the U.S. Nexus Requirement, all applicants for the .US domain must be either: 1. A natural person (i) who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States of America or any of its possessions or territories, or (ii) whose primary place of domicile is in the United States of America or any of its possessions, or 2. An entity or organization that is (i) incorporated within one of the fifty (50) U.S. states, the District of Columbia, or any of the United States possessions or territories or (ii) organized or otherwise constituted under the laws of a state of the United States of America, the District of Columbia or any of its possessions or territories, or 3. An entity or organization (including a federal, state, or local government of the United States, or a political subdivision thereof) that has a bona fide presence in the United States. For further information please contact: Marc Greenberg Baker and Hostetler (213) 975-1882 Baker & Hostetler LLP Alerts are intended to inform our clients and other friends of our firm about current legal developments of general interest. This should not be construed as legal advice, and readers should not act upon the information contained in this communication without professional counsel. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information our qualifications and experience. [Florida Rule 4-7.2(d)] 2001.