.co enters pricey global sunrise
Trademark holders can from today apply for their brands as .co domain names, even if they do not do business in Colombia.
The second stage of .CO Internet’s sunrise period allows owners of non-Colombian trademarks to apply for their domains through one of 10 chosen launch registrars.
Prices vary from $225 with OpenSRS to $335 through Dotster, with most deals comprising non-refundable application fees plus first-year registration. Go Daddy is charging $299.99 and Network Solutions is charging $279.99.
With the possible exception of .xxx, I’ve got a suspicion that this could be one of the last “generic” TLD launches with such expensive sunrise periods.
It’s quite possible there could be pricing pressure if ICANN quickly approves a few hundred new gTLDs next year. If each charges ~$300 for a pre-launch, it could cause some some registrants to rethink their defensive registration strategies.
The .co sunrise ends June 10. General availability begins July 20.
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I definitely see the .CO as having more value than simply brand protection. It has huge potential to online marketing.
I’ve pre registered quite a number of general availability .CO domains with LCN – http://www.lcn.com/co_domain_names as they are doing a no-win no-fee system. I believe the resale value of the ones I secure will certainly outweigh the investment.
However, the prices people are will to pay in the .CO landrush auction will really give domainers and online marketers a clear insight as to the potential uptake of this extension.