We would like to congratulate Afilias on its purchase of the .Pro registry!

We think this is going to mean great things for .Pro, with increased visibility and marketing efforts. The domain has already seen a surge in registration over the last six months, so we expect it only to go up from here. Right now, you can secure your trademark or brand at the reduced price of $2.99 for any new .Pro domain name registration.

Businesses, lawyers, doctors, accountants and any other licensed professional can use .Pro. It is an affordable alternative to a .com and signals to potential customers your professional status.

Finally, all EnCirca registrants receive a free listing in the Find.pro business directory, which helps to boost your search engine visibility. Learn more on our .Pro site.

If you still need to protect your trademark in the .XXX domain, you’ll be glad to know that along with industry stalwart, Thomson Compumark, we’re offering customers the option to specifically apply for a non-resolving domain name.

Registration is first-come, first-served – and the volume has remained high for this controversial domain. Membership in the sponsored community is not required; any interested party may purchase available names. This is your last chance to protect your brand in .XXX, so please act swiftly.

EnCirca developed this service along with Thomson CompuMark because brand owners still have names they need to be protected that were not eligible during the sunrise period. Unregistered trademarks and common names can now be registered through EnCirca.

Today, EnCirca announces a reduced price of $2.99 for any new .PRO domain name registration. Lawyers, doctors, accountants and any other licensed professional can use .PRO and make their mark online by posting marketing materials, resumes, blogs and connect with customers on the .PRO domain, which signals to potential customers their professional status.

.PRO is a superior alternative to .com for indicating that the business or individual has successfully demonstrated competence in their respective profession. It’s an affordable way to direct customers from social media interactions to blogs and marketing materials and boost search engine presence.

Licensed professionals from anywhere in the world can register .PRO domain names. .PRO supports all professions where an official credential is required for a business or individual to offer services. Qualified businesses and professionals can register their business names, trademarks, and personal names by visiting http://www.encirca.com.

To register a .PRO domain, visit: http://encirca.com/pro

Tomorrow, December 6 at 11:00 am EST, general availability will begin for the .XXX domain name. If you still need to protect your trademark, you’ll be glad to know that at EnCirca, we’re offering our customers the option to specifically apply for a non-resolving domain name.

Any domain still available after sunrise, landrush and premium auctions is up for grabs. Membership in the sponsored community is not required; any interested party may purchase available names.

This registration is first-come, first-served - and the volume will be high for this controversial domain.

Pre-registration is still available here for the entire day and allows you to complete the paperwork before the “doors” open.

Successful applicants will need to renew their domain name annually.  The owner’s name will appear in the Whois as the domain name owner, although proxy services will be allowed for these names.

This is your last chance to protect your brand in .XXX, so please act swiftly.

Starting November 17th, .PRO registrants will no longer have to wade through a cumbersome registration process and delayed activation of  .PRO domain names. The .PRO data collection process has been streamlined so that registrants are now able to register and use their domain names instantly.

.PRO has grown in popularity and now has over 114,000 registrations.  RegistryPro wanted to make .PRO easier for end users and registrars by implementing the following upgrades:

• Immediate activation of newly registered second level .PRO domain names.

Registrants no longer have to wait for domain name activation while license information is submitted.  The domain name can now become active immediately upon registration.

• Professional data now directly tied to individual domain names rather than registrant whois contact.

Registration and activation is now a snap for licensed professionals.

• Streamlined professional data collection process.

The professional data required upon registration is reduced to only the type of licensed profession.

As the market leader, EnCirca is offering special promotional pricing of just $9.99 for new .PRO registrations.

Visit .PRO page for more information and to reserve your name.

It’s official, Sunrise B is over for .XXX. But, for trademark owners that still need to protect their marks and brands, there are several options to successfully feel secure in this new domain.

General Availability…

Many trademark owners will be pursuing General Availability (GA) in .XXX, and we’re happy to let you know that we’re offering pre-registration and we’re offering our customers the option to specifically apply for a non-resolving domain name. GA is first-come, first-served and will begin in December, 2011 for any domains still available after sunrise, landrush and premium auctions.

Successful applicants will need to renew annually.  The owner’s name will appear in the Whois as the domain name owner, although proxy services will be allowed for these names.

Want to get a jump on GA? Have a generic, common mark? Consider Landrush

.XXX Landrush is recommended if your brand represents a common or generic string.  If you are the only party applying for the domain name, the domain is yours for the minimum price. However, if more than one party applies for the same domain name, it goes to auction and is sold to the highest bidder. Also, registrants are required to join the sponsored community – and this is easier to do than it may seem because the membership criteria is broadly defined.  Eligibility includes a category called “Service Providers” and can include manufacturers, delivery companies, caterers, distribution companies, banking services, stylists and hosting services.

Successful applicants will need to renew their domain name annually.  The owner’s name will appear in the Whois as the domain name owner.

As ICANN prepares to start accepting applications for new top-level domain extensions, it is also planning to establish a trademark clearinghouse for the protection of trademarks in these new domains.  EnCirca’s President, Tom Barrett is helping ICANN solicit feedback on the objectives of the new system.

This week, ICANN is meeting in Dakar, Senegal and Barrett is serving on a six-person panel seeking feedback from the community to ensure that the trademark clearinghouse implementation is aligned with the objectives. This ICANN session will feature an update on the activities relating to this work, and an open discussion on a number of implementation issues relating to the Trademark Claims service, and the Sunrise period requirements.

The workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, October 26 from 12pm-1:30pm GMT  (8am EST).

A virtual meeting room has been established and remote participation is encouraged. See http://dakar42.icann.org/node/26961 for details.

Today, EnCirca announced it has achieved a perfect success rate in pre-validating trademark applications for the .xxx sunrise period*.

Trademark owners get only one chance to get it right to block their trademark in the new .xxx domain.  So, pre-validation is essential.  EnCirca attributes its success through the use of the Trademark Fact Check analysis service.

Trademark Fact Check automatically screens sunrise applications for over 20 different criteria required by the .xxx registry.  Its scope is global with real-time searching of 65 national and regional trademark databases.

In previous sunrise periods, it was reported that up to 50 percent of applications were rejected as a result of errors. So far for the .xxx sunrise, the registry is reporting a rate of 20 percent.

In comparison to these results, EnCirca’s success using Trademark Fact Check is notable:

-100% of the sunrise applications that passed the Trademark Fact Check analysis have been approved by the .xxx validation agent.

-Trademark Fact Check has covered 99% of the trademark jurisdictions submitted by trademark owners

-Over 90% of sunrise applications have come from just 20 jurisdictions.

Trademark owners need to act quickly before sunrise ends on October 28.  Pre-validation of their applications should be one of the criteria used in selecting their registrar.

To register your trademark, visit www.encirca.com.

If you are a trademark owner that is not eligible to block your trademarks in sunrise B, there are several options to consider…

Apply under Sunrise AD

If you currently own a pre-existing domain name registered prior to February, 2010 and you would like to register the name in .xxx, then Sunrise AD may be for you. Sunrise AD runs in parallel with Sunrise B and concludes on October 28.  In order to qualify for Sunrise AD, you must join the .xxx sponsored community. Fortunately, the membership criteria is very broadly defined.   Eligibility includes a category called “Service Providers” of others in the community, including manufacturers, delivery companies, caterers, distribution companies, banking services, stylists and hosting services.

Successful applicants under sunrise AD will need to renew their domain name annually. The owner’s name will appear in the Whois as the domain name owner.

Apply under Landrush

.XXX Landrush is recommended if your brand represents a common or generic string.  Landrush also requires registrants to join the sponsored community.  If they are the only party applying for the domain name, the domain is theirs for the minimum price. If more than one party applies for the same domain name, then it goes to auction and is sold to the highest bidder.

Successful applicants will need to renew their domain name annually.  The owner’s name will appear in the Whois as the domain name owner.

Apply under General Availability

First-come, first-served registrations begin during the General Availability phase in December, 2011 for any domains still available after sunrise, landrush and premium auctions.  Membership in the sponsored community is not required.

Successful applicants will need to renew their domain name annually.  The owner’s name will appear in the Whois as the domain name owner, although proxy services will be allowed for these names.

Brands Owners Need to Act

Auction activity for premium generic strings in .xxx indicate there is a lot of interest among domains and investors.  This implies increased demand for landrush and general availability.  Trademark owners should consider carefully their options before it is too late.

Brand owners are welcome to contact EnCirca with specific questions about pre-validation of their trademarks.  Send email to sunrise@encirca.com