FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — .CLUB Domains, the company formed to own and operate the new “.club” generic top-level domain name (gTLD), announced today that it has begun its Trademark Sunrise Period, signaling that brands and other trademark owners can now register and buy their own .club web address.
.CLUB Domains also said it has signed agreements with more than 50 registrars around the world, including Network Solutions, Register.com, MarkMonitor, GoDaddy, Name.com, Melbourne IT, 1and1, United-Domains and others to begin selling .club web addresses to clubs, membership organizations, affinity and loyalty groups or any community that shares a common interest or passion.
For a complete list of initial .club registrars click here.
“This is truly a historic moment for us at .CLUB Domains, for the Internet at large and for the millions of clubs, companies and groups that want a better way to market themselves online,” said Colin Campbell, CEO and founder of .CLUB. “As we’ve traveled around the world, from Tokyo to Beijing to France and beyond, it was amazing to see the word “club” recognized and used in ads, on signs and throughout every country visited. The more we travel the world, the more we realize that .club truly is a global brand.”
In order to participate in the Sunrise period, the trademark must have been submitted to and validated by the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH), a centralized database of verified trademarks maintained by ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which is the international organization responsible for managing and coordinating the Domain Name System (DNS).
.CLUB’s Trademark Sunrise period will last 60 days, at which time registrants will be awarded their new .CLUB web addresses, the company said in a release.
According to Jeff Sass, .CLUB’s chief marketing officer, “During our Sunrise period, we believe it is important for brands and other trademark holders to register their respective "Trademark.club" name as www.Brand.club. [It is] a logical, memorable and highly marketable domain name for a brand’s community of customers and fans, including their communities on social media.”
If there are multiple applicants with rights to the same trademark, .CLUB Domains says that the process will proceed to auction, which will be managed by SEDO, the world’s largest domain marketplace. "Land rush" for .club web addresses is set to begin April 1 with general availability on May 7. As per ICANN rules, the first .club web address to go live will be the company’s website, www.NIC.club.
