[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he new .africa geographic top-level Internet domain has attracted almost a thousand registrations by trademark owners, placing it in the top 10 worldwide for the number of domain name reservations during the sunrise phase of a launch process.
In total, .africa recorded 981 registrations by trademark owners over the 60 days from 4 April 2017, “placing it firmly within the top 10”, the ZA Central Registry, which administers the domain, said on Monday.
CEO Lucky Masilela said that, like other registry operators, the ZACR monitored and measured the number of intellectual property owners that submitted marks through the global Trade Mark Clearing House as well as the ZACR’s own Mark Validation System to “ensure protection of priority rights” before .africa is launched to the general public on 4 July.
During the sunrise period, brand owners across Africa were encouraged to apply for .africa domain names matching their registered or validated intellectual property.
The .africa domain is now at the tail-end of the second landrush phase, meaning registrations are now open to everyone around the world, without any restriction. — (c) 2017 NewsCentral Media