Table of Contents
Table of Contents
European Union Domain Names
Legal Basis
– Regulation (EU) 2019/517 of the European Parliament and of the Council of March 19, 2019 on the implementation and functioning of the .eu top-level domain name and amending and repealing Regulation (EC) No. 733/2002 and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No. 874/2004.
– Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/857 of June 17, 2020 laying down the principles to be included in the contract between the European Commission and the .eu top-level domain Registry in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/517 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
– .eu Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules and Supplemental Rules (available at: https://eu.adr.eu/html/en/adr/adr_rules/ADR_rules.pdf).
– Regulation (EU) 2019/517 of the European Parliament and of the Council of March 19, 2019 on the implementation and functioning of the .eu top-level domain name and amending and repealing Regulation (EC) No. 733/2002 and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No. 874/2004.
Filing
Country code top-level domain name: .eu
Second-level domains: registrable solely by the member States in the form of geographic or geopolitical names that affect their political or territorial organization following notification of the said names to the Commission (Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2015/516 of March 26, 2015). The second-level domain .europa.eu has been reserved for EU institution sites. The 27 countries forming the European Union (EU) are, at present: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.
Remark on IP implications of the U.K.’s referendum vote of June 23, 2016 to leave the European Union: on January 29, 2020, the United Kingdom and the European Union ratified the Withdrawal Agreement. Accordingly, the United Kingdom left the European Union on January 31, 2020. There was a transition period running from February 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. During this period, all European Union legal texts on intellectual property matters applied as usual, and U.K. citizens and residents were eligible for holding and registering a .eu domain name. After the transition period, U.K. citizens and residents no longer comply with the .eu regulatory framework, so they will not be able to (1) register new .eu domain names; (2) maintain .eu domain names registered before Brexit. Holders of .eu domain names who no longer comply with .eu eligibility requirements, were notified by EURid and were given the possibility to demonstrate their compliance with this framework. As of January 1, 2021, any .eu domain name held by a U.K. citizen or resident who did not demonstrate their eligibility was deemed as withdrawn. Following the end of the Brexit transition period, EURid informed that over 80,000 domain names assigned to United Kingdom registrants were suspended in January 2021. These domain names were suspended until March 31, 2021. During the suspension period domain name holders that were no longer in compliance with the .eu eligibility requirements were able to update their addresses (from the United Kingdom to the European Union) and/or to update their citizenship information in relation to any of the 27 EU member States. EURid sent several reminders to United Kingdom registrants asking them to update the status of their .eu domain name. On January 3, 2022, EURid revoked all .eu domain names whose registrant was no longer in compliance with the .eu regulatory framework, which will become available for general registration.
Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
Restriction as to nationality – local presence: “.eu” domain names may be registered through any accredited “.eu” Registrar upon request by (1) European Union citizens, independently of their place of residence; (2) a natural person who is not a European Union citizen and who is a resident of a Member State; (3) an undertaking that is established in the European Union; or (4) an organisation that is established in the European Union, without prejudice to the application of national law.
Domestic trademark right: not required for obtaining domain name registration.
Domain name can be registered as a trademark: yes.
Registration, Protection
Duration: one to ten years.
Renewal/maintenance: one to ten years, renewable.
Dispute about ownership: to be brought before the national courts.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: domain name disputes with regard to speculative and abusive domain names can be solved through the .eu Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules (which is a WIPO variation of the UDRP procedure) with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center or the Czech Arbitration Court. For further details please see: https://eurid.eu/en/register-a-eu-domain/domain-name-disputes
Authority name: EURid.
Internet address: https://eurid.eu/en