Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know
From today, anyone in the EU can register any available .eu domain name on a first-come-first-served basis. Germany, the Netherlands and France have been ahead of the UK in the total number of applications for .eu names made to date.
The .eu domain launched in December but until now only trade mark holders, public bodies and, more recently, those with prior rights, have been entitled to reserve domain names.
According to the registry, the European Registry of Internet Domain Names (EURid), more than 300,000 applications were received during this sunrise period, and several hundred thousand more applications are expected after today's opening of the so-called landrush.
“Nobody knows exactly how many registrations of new domain names to expect for Friday, but the interest so far has been significant so I think we will see several hundred thousand proud holders of brand new .eu domain names from Friday and onwards,” said EURid Managing Director Marc Van Wesemael earlier this week.
The registry advises anyone interested in obtaining a .eu domain name to get in contact with one of the more than 1,000 accredited .eu registrars for assistance.
