A few days ago the Community regulations related to said domain names were published. The registration of these domain names is reserved to companies and individuals residing in the European Union.

The .EU domain will gain a considerable importance and offer great visibility to the companies that operate in the European market; it is therefore important to consider protecting your own distinctive signs also under that extension.

Up to this moment the definitive requirements, time limits and operative technical procedures have not been disclosed, although it has meanwhile been ascertained that public institutions and owners of pre-existing rights, who are recognized or provided for by national or Community rules, will have the possibility to apply for the registration prior to the beginning of the general registration (sunrise period), approximately from December 2004.

During the sunrise period, it seems that the ‘first come, first served’ rule will apply. Therefore, even in the light of the recent widening of the European Community, and of the deriving extension of rights that will be thus valid on a Community level, we strongly recommend that you do not wait to protect your distinctive signs.

In view of the foregoing, we remind you that it is currently impossible to obtain an actual pre-registration of domain names with a .EU extension, as there is not yet an operative register nor an actual official recognition of the operators in this field. Therefore, as long as the above-explained situation is maintained, you should beware of any possibility that you may be offered to pre-register .EU domain names, since such a pre-registration has no validity before the competent Authority.

In any case, we recommend that you inform us of your interest in any of the foregoing by contacting us promptly.