“We’re delighted to see applications from such a breadth of businesses
and categories worldwide,” said Khashayar Mahdavi, CEO of Telnic. “Trademark
owners have obviously got the message that .tel is a huge departure from
.com-type domains that host web content and is instead an innovative platform
for communications.”
Within the first minute of Sunrise (the two-month period for trademark
holders to apply for their .tel domains), Google, Apple, Microsoft, News
Corporation, MySpace, Amex, BP, FedEx, Virgin, Sony, Gap, Visa, McDonalds,
Orange, MTV, Dell, Coca-Cola, Vodafone, Honda, Intel, BlackBerry, P&G,
Starbucks, Subway, Johnson & Johnson, Dominos, Cisco, Unilever, Best Buy,
British Airways and Victoria’s Secret amongst others had all applied for their
.tel domains. Other applications included:
– Prestige Brands: Jimmy Choo, Ferrari, Maserati, Versace, Tiffany & Co,
Porsche, Lamborghini, Davos-Klosters, St. Moritz, Marks & Spencer,
Bose, Hermes, Patek Philippe, DeBeers, Rolex, BMW, Orient Express,
Ugg, Christian Dior, Faberge
– Consulting: Accenture, BCG, Arthur D Little, Deloitte & Touche, KPMG,
Mazars
– Banking, Insurance & Professional Services: HSBC, Allianz, Barclays
Wealth, Citi Bank, Charles Schwab, Standard Chartered, Schroders,
Prudential, Sun Life, ING Bank, ANZ Bank, Santander, HBOS,
NS&I/Premium Bonds, BBVA Group, ABN Amro, Halifax, Standard Life,
Fidelity
– Hospitality: Marriott, InterHotel, Ritz-Carlton, Hard Rock Cafe,
Sofitel, Diners Club International, Novotel, Renaissance Hotels
– Energy: Ashland, Castrol, Conoco, ELF, Total, Esso, National Grid, BP
– Health & Pharmaceutical: Novartis, Astra-Zeneca, Baxter, BMA, Boston
Scientific, Philips, Merck, Molnlycke
– Airlines, Aerospace & Aviation: Airbus, BAE Systems, Fokker, Virgin
Atlantic, Air China, Airmiles, ATAG, British Airways, EasyJet, KLM,
Japan Airlines,
– Media: BBC, Sony Pictures, Financial Times, Le Figaro, The Economist,
Freemantle Media, Les, Echos, Pop Idol, The X Factor, Star Academy,
Bloomberg, Viacom, VH1, News Corporation, Comedy Central, Showtime,
IDG, CBS News, CNET, Forbes, CNN, Sky News, 20th Century Fox,
Discovery Channel, Thomson, Nielsen, Film4
– Sports & Games: New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, World
Series, Hasbro, Daytona
– Information & Online Services: Yellow Pages, Lastminute.com, Pages
Jaunes, Pages Blanches, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Ticketmaster, National
Car Rental, Easy Rent a Car, Ebookers
Trademark owners only have until February 2nd 2009 to register their
trademarks for .tel domains in this protected period, after which time the
ICANN-approved Universal Dispute Resolution Process (UDRP) will enable brand
owners which have not protected their trademarks to re-gain them. This can
however be a long and costly process.
Final numbers for .tel domains in Sunrise will be released after the
period has closed, as applications need to be validated by third party
validation agent, Deloitte, prior to being awarded to the applicants, to make
sure that the trademark being applied for is legitimately held.
