If you are a professional (doctor, attorney, certified public accountant) and want to register a trademark or service mark, you have six weeks from April 5 to register an Internet domain with the new .pro top-level domain, .pro registry operator RegistryPro has announced. These "defensive registrations" will be available until May 14, with the formal .pro launch set for June.
"As we near the launch of the .pro domain, we encourage the owners of trademarks, service marks and other protected brand names to take advantage of this special registration opportunity," RegistryPro general manager Michael DelCiello said announcing the so-called "sunrise" registration period. "The .pro domain will add a new dimension to the Internet, offering professionals a unique online identity, and providing a new standard of security and confidentiality for professionals and their clients."
Live .pro registrations will include digital certification for authenticating communications and transactions, RegistryPro said, but professionals "must undergo a verification process to validate their eligibility for using a .pro name extension."
The domain will be available only to doctors, attorneys, and certified public accountants initially. Trademark and service mark registrants can buy four-year defensive registrations across the board, for any current and future second-level string variations (domains) or specific domain names (i.e., .law.pro, .med.pro, .cpa.pro), RegistryPro said.
"Defensive registrations provide a strategic solution that enables registrants to block domain names that exactly match their trademarks, and to reserve a name for future use," the company continued. "These registrations cannot be used to point to an actual Web site, or as extensions to e-mail addresses. However, after the .pro domain begins operating in June 2004, registrants can convert a defensive registration to a live domain name if they meet the registry's eligibility requirements."
