The ZACR (ZA Central Registry) has launched several African Geographic Top Level Domains (gTLDs).

They are:

  • .capetown
  • .durban
  • .joburg
  • .africa (currently under review)

The process in short consisted of:

  • Sunrise application period (90 days)
  • Land Rush application period (120 days)
  • Processes started 1 July 2014 and ran together

SUNRISE APPLICATIONS (FOR TRADEMARK HOLDERS ONLY)

  • Window of 90 days (starting 1 July 2014)
  • Businesses can claim a domain name associated with their brand, like nike.joburg or mcdonalds.capetown
  • At the end of the 90 days, uncontended applications will be registered
  • Others will follow an auction process
  • A Sunrise application does not guarantee a successful registration
  • Trademarks must be validated by a trademark clearinghouse

LANDRUSH: (FOR NAMES THAT CAN’T BE TRADEMARKED OR NON-TRADEMARK HOLDERS)

  • Applicants can pre-register their interest in popular domain names
  • Where they do not have a trademark or where the name being applied for is a generic name eg. hotels.capetown
  • Runs concurrent with Sunrise applications
  • Window of 120 days (starting 1 July 2014)
  • At the end of the 120 days, uncontended applications will be registered
  • Others will follow an auction process
  • A Landrush application does not guarantee a successful registration

GENERAL AVAILABILITY

I can hardly wait for this one. There are several domains I want to register for myself and clients.

  • This period follows Sunrise and Landrush periods
  • Starts on 1 November 2014
  • New gTLD is available on a “first-come, first-served” basis to the general public
  • Any entity or individual can register a new gTLD

If you want more information you can contact me here, or visit ZACR’s website here

Office Hours 09:00 - 16:30 Mo-Fri