The clock is ticking to protect your internet Brand and Identity 2018
Firstly, a bit of background. Approximately four years ago the internet introduced a whole load of new domain types which had a suffix that was either business orientated, location based, and with a few more classifications besides. Some of the rules that were introduced were based on who could register what, with the main one to consider was for domains like www.mybusiness.co.uk that only the domain owner of that domain could register www.mybusiness.uk. These rights of ownership were set as 5-years.
That rule is going to change 10th June 2019, and anyone will then be able to register the .uk suffix domain, even if they do not own the .co.uk.
Since 2013 you could register a .uk domain without registering the .co.uk domain and obviously the rule above did not apply but typically was based on the .co.uk being also available at that time of registration.
You might think that is irrelevant to your business but just think of the implications where a competitor buys the .uk and points it to their business website, or, alternatively they set up emails and a new website cloning your existing business attracting your customers.
The biggest threat though is companies registering the .uk domains and looking to charge you an exorbitant fee to pass ownership. So a £10.00 a year additional cost might run in to the £000’s for you to secure ownership.
So what next?
If you want to register the .uk domain you will need to contact
You have until early 2019 to decide so no immediate decision is required but we cannot guarantee availability once the above date has passed. You will get people searching the internet to buy the .uk domains on or before the 10th June 2019 and then look to sell them to you at an inflated cost as the registrar will not have to check the .co.uk ownership. If there are any other announcements we will keep you posted.