Kaupo Lepasepp Partner kaupo.lepasepp@sorainen.com
	Indrek Eelmets Trademark Attorney indrek.eelmets@sorainen.com

In July 2010 new domain rules took effect. These considerably increase the possibilities for registering domains. New domain rules allow registration of Estonian domain names in an unlimited amount and lift restrictions on foreign persons who want to register Estonian domains.

One of the most important obligations under the new domain rules is the requirement to re-register all .ee domains which existed before the reform. The deadline for re-registering domains expired on 5 January 2011. The Estonian Internet Foundation as manager of the domain name register will start deleting domains not re-registered by the deadline.

Note, however,  that nothing  will  happen   right away with domains not re-registered by the deadline, so that the possibility still remains to re-register those domains until the end of the deletion period. Deletion will take place until 5 April 2011 and consists of two steps:

• 6 Jan - 5 Feb 2011 the domain will be active, so that the home page and e-mail work;
• 6 Feb - 5 Apr 2011 the domain will no longer be active, so that the home page  and  e-mail  will  no  longer  work.   If a domain is re-registered during this period, it will be activated right after re-registration.

Deletion ends on 6 April 2011. Domains that are not re-registered by that date will be deleted and will become publicly available. This means that the first applicant for a specific domain can register it in their name. The Estonian Internet Foundation and the largest registrar, Zone, have estimated that of approx 80,000 domain names registered before the reform as many as half will not be re-registered.

Interested parties should check the domain register for domain names not re-registered so far which might become available on 6 April 2011. Here, though, rights of third parties should be kept in mind, because the “first come, first served” principle does not work for a domain that violates trademark rights and trademark owners can claim a potential domain through the domain disputes committee.

Since the start of domain reform, SORAINEN has helped register almost 400 .ee domains thanks to great interest from good clients and cooperation partners. Registering domains and providing an administrative contact service is part of SORAINEN’s complete intellectual property management service.

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Please note that SORAINEN Intellectual Property newsflash is compiled for general information purposes only, free of obligation and free of legal responsibility and liability. It does not cover all laws or reflect all changes in legislation, nor are the explanations provided exhaustive. Therefore, we recommend that you contact SORAINEN or other legal advisor for further information. Electronic versions of SORAINEN Intellectual Property newsflashes are available and can be subscribed to on the SORAINEN website.

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