DotAsia, the .ASIA registry, has just published their draft Sunrise policies for introducing idns this year (Internationalized Domain Names - local characters instead of the Latin a-z). We will of course keep you posted about the launch details later and it will be possible to queue your .asia domains. It will be run along similar lines as the initial Sunrise launch of the .asia domain launch in March 2008. Idn for .asia is only the last of several idn launches seen recently, with idn for .EU domains being the latest back in Dec. 09.

The launch will signify that .asia domains can be registered with Chinese, Japanese and any of the other characters used in the 73 Asian countries.

If you still haven't registered your company name and trademarks as .asia domains then use the domain checker below:

.Asia launch details

Unlike the .asia launch, all Sunrise phases (SR1, SR2 and SR3) will proceed in parallel (i.e. the registry will open for applications within a same time period). Applications received for SR2 and SR3 phases will be treated as received at the same time, with priority maintained (i.e. SR2 over SR3). If there is only one successful applicant for a .asia domain, it will be allocated to the applicant. If more than one applicant to the same domain passes the verification process (for the same priority), all successfully verified applicants will be invited to bid for that domain in an auction. Notification of the auction along with information about competing bidders will be made available to all bidders before an auction commences.

It is expected that eligibility will be similar to the original .asia launch and priority will be awarded as follows:

Sunrise 1 (SR1) - Governmental Reserved Names

Sunrise 2 (SR2) - Registered Marks

Sunrise 3 (SR3) - Registered Company Names

.Asia Landrush

Once the Sunrise periods have concluded, a Landrush period will begin. During the Landrush period, all applications received within the period will be considered to be received at the same time. .Asia domains with only one application will be allocated to that applicant, provided they meet the requirements (i.e. the CED requirement). For .asia domains with more than one conformant applicant, all conformant applicants will be invited to bid for the .asia domain name.

Domains with at least one successfully verified applicant from Sunrise (SR2 or SR3) will not be available in Landrush. However, the verification process for Sunrise applications may still be ongoing at the commencement of Landrush. If a .asia domain applied under Landrush is later found unavailable to Landrush applicants by reason of a successful Sunrise application, all pending applications for that particular domain under Landrush will be automatically declined. It is important to note that Landrush applications will NOT be disclosed or viewable via the public WHOIS during the Landrush application period. Also, .asia domains with only one Landrush application will NOT be required to proceed through the auction process and will be allocated to the applicant directly. There is therefore no reason for prospective domain registrants to wait for Go-Live before applying for a domain name of interest.

Go-Live of idn for .asia domains

The .ASIA Registry will set a date after the completion of the Landrush period for Go-Live. At Go-Live, all domain names already applied for through Sunrise and Landrush will be unavailable for registration. In the event that a Sunrise application is denied, it will automatically be considered for applications during the Landrush period. Therefore, the domain name will not be available during Go-Live. Upon Go-Live, all registrations for all available domains will be allocated in real-time on a First-Come-First-Served basis.

Languages and Scripts for .asia domains

The IDN languages and scripts (characters accepted for registration) to be launched, along with the actual launch schedule (date and time) are NOT yet published. Not all languages and scripts will be launched simultaneously, but each IDN Language launch will follow the same policy framework.

The .ASIA Registry intends to batch together as many IDN Languages as possible in each Launch cycle for better efficiency. As much as possible, DotAsia will try to launch IDN Languages sharing the same (or parts of the same) script together to avoid disadvantaging a language community for which the IDN Language utilizing the same (or parts of the same) script against another. For example, Japanese and Chinese share an overlapping set of Han Characters, therefore, the Registry will launch both Japanese and Chinese IDN registrations at the same time. Nevertheless, in the actual implementation, the availability and readiness of IDN Language Policies may dictate otherwise.