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

We worked with Thomson Compumark to develop a special product to help allow those not involved in the adult entertainment industry opt-out of participation in the .XXX domain.

The Sunrise B period is specifically for those outside of the adult entertainment industry interested in blocking and protecting their trademarks from being registered by others. It is very important for brand owners to act during the Sunrise B period because after October 28, 2011, all remaining .XXX domain names will become available to register by the general public. This means that any unprotected brands could be attached to a .XXX domain.

EnCirca is uniquely positioned to assist Thomson CompuMark because we are pre-validating all sunrise applications with technology that mirrors the Registry’s validation checks for the .XXX sunrise period. By determining eligibility and detecting conflicts between government trademark databases and .XXX sunrise applications, customers will be able to correct their applications before registry fees are incurred.

In addition, we are still offering a money-back guarantee for trademark owners applying for the .XXX sunrise period. Visit our .XXX page for all the details!

Registrars will accept your sunrise applications now through  October 28.  But the deadline to provide required documentation is November 2.  Avoid this trap!

Make sure your application and documentation are completed and submitted at the same time.  That way, you know they are consistent and will not cause an issue during validation.

Remember, there are no second chances.  You are not allowed to make any corrections to your application once it is submitted.  So, if your trademark record or license has conflicting information, you are stuck.

Some registrars won’t care when you submit your documentation, since they are not offering any guarantee or refund.

Documentation is required for licensees, assignees and trademark records from countries that the validation agent cannot verify online.  The registry has not published the list of countries this includes.  So, get a copy yourself to review and have it handy in case your registrar asks.

EnCirca is offering a money-back guarantee if your application is rejected by the validation agent.  For more details, see http://www.encirca.com/xxx.

EnCirca will be accepting Sunrise applications for the new top-level domain .XXX, specifically designed for the online adult entertainment industry. Businesses that are not part of the adult industry need to pay close attention because they have the opportunity to block their trademarks so that they cannot be used as a .XXX web addresses.

There will be three tracks within the Sunrise period for .XXX, two of which will be routes to conventional domain name registration by the adult industry members of the sponsored community. The third will be a route for businesses and organizations that consider themselves not to be members of the sponsored community to secure a blocked name.

.XXX is operated by ICM Registry and its launch will be in late summer 2011. To learn more about .XXX, visit
http://encirca.com/html/ex-ex-ex-registration.shtml

A lot of great names are still available.  Check our .CO bulk search tool for free.

Attention trademark lawyers and brand owners:  make sure you have protected your company name and trademarks.

For a free availability check, go to: http://www.encirca.com/html/co-reg.shtml

The ICANN timetable for the next three months is here: http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/draft-timeline-new-gtlds-18mar11-en.pdf

The .XXX top-level domain for the adult content community was once again approved by the ICANN Board last week in San Francisco.  Once the .XXX registry has signed a contract with ICANN, there is a minimum 60-day period to allow national governments to submit geographic designators to be protected under .XXX.

There will be two sunrise periods, down from the original three:

1. Adult-related trademark owners will be able to secure their trademarks first as resolving .xxx domain names.

2. Non-adult-related trademark owners will then be allowed to block their trademarks as non-resolving .xxx domain names.

Assuming there are no further delays, the .XXX sunrise periods for trademark owners could begin sometime in June, 2011.  EnCirca will be posting further announcements at http://www.encirca.com/html/ex-ex-ex-registration.shtml

The dot-CO registry has continued its Superbowl special for one more week.  Register dot-CO domains for just $11.99 until February 19 at encirca.com (http://www.encirca.com) . 

The explosive rise of dot-co as a popular domain is in large part because many businesses have brands and trademarks that they would like to register but have been taken in .com. But, even big businesses like Twitter and Overstock.com have gotten in on the deal and have become early dot-co adopters.

 “There have been over 600,000 dot-co registrations in less than a year,” says Tom Barrett, President of EnCirca. “Names are going fast and businesses should protect their brands and trademarks.”

 The suffix dot-co is universally recognized as an abbreviation for company. In a dot-co registry survey, 75 percent of respondents equated dot-co with “company”, “corporation,” or “commerce.” In fact, nearly 50 countries use dot-co as a second level domain name to depict just that, such as co.uk and co.jp.

 To check availability and register, go to www.encirca.com.

The explosive rise of dot-co as a popular domain is in large part because many businesses have brands and trademarks that they would like to register but have been taken in .com. But, even big businesses like Twitter and Overstock.com have gotten in on the deal and have become early dot-co adopters.

 “There have been over 600,000 dot-co registrations in less than a year,” says Tom Barrett, President of EnCirca. “Names are going fast and businesses should protect their brands and trademarks.”

 The suffix dot-co is universally recognized as an abbreviation for company. In a dot-co registry survey, 75 percent of respondents equated dot-co with “company”, “corporation,” or “commerce.” In fact, nearly 50 countries use dot-co as a second level domain name to depict just that, such as co.uk and co.jp.

 To check availability and register, go to www.encirca.com.

The dot-Pro domain name is available to all licensed professionals around the world. Professionals can use their dot-Pro domain to showcase their resume, services, case studies and marketing materials – and importantly, boost their search engine presence.

Protect your trademark,  take control of your online brand, and ensure that customers can find you online – register a dot-Pro domain today!

For more information about dot-Pro domains, visit EnCirca’s dot-Pro page.

This is notice of the launch of the .Travel Incentive Rebate Program (”Rebate Program”)  effective immediately.

The .Travel Rebate Program will provide a $20/name rebate incentive for registration or renewal of blocks of .travel names totaling 50 or more, held under the same registrant Unique Identifying Number (UIN).  In addition, all participants will receive a free search report for their domain names on the top-50 social networks.

The following are the detailed terms of the Rebate Program.  

1. The Rebate Program will be in effect from 24:01 eastern U.S. time December 21, 2010 to 24:00 eastern U.S. time March 21, 2011 (the “Term”).    All registrations and renewals must be completed within these times to be eligible for the rebate. 

2. The rebate paid by EnCirca will be $20 U.S. per name, per year of registration or renewal (the “Rebate”).

3. Only blocks of .Travel names totaling 50 names or more held under the same UIN and registered or renewed within the Term will be eligible for the Rebate. 

4. To be eligible for the Rebate you must give advance notice to EnCirca of the UIN under which the names will be registered or renewed and the total number of names and term length that will be registered or renewed.  

5. All registrations or renewals made during the period will be initially charged to your account at the  normal retail price per year. The .Travel Registry will confirm that the UIN and total registrations or renewals match the advance notice given by you and will authorize a rebate to your EnCirca account within 30 business days of completion of the registrations or renewals. 

Some additional details:

1. Any combination of renewals and new registrations are possible as long as the total number of domains is at least 50.

2. The rebate is for each year of registration.  So, multi-year registrations and multi-year renewals will get a $20 rebate for each year registered or renewed

3. If you have domains under more than one UIN, you may combine them for this program by renewing them under a common UIN.  Contact EnCirca on how to do this

4. In-coming transfers do not count towards the program.  However, you may transfer in domains and then renew them for subsequent years to qualify for the rebate.

5. You must complete your new registrations and renewals within the term of the program.  In other words, by March 21, 2011.

6. The rebate will be paid once the full block has been registered or renewed and we have verified that the block has met the requirements of the Rebate Program.

7. The rebate cannot be combined with any other discounts or coupons.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Best Regards,

EnCirca Support

http://www.encirca.com