Recently, The University of the Netherlands Antilles (UNA), the administrator and authoritative registry for .AN domains, announced that it will begin removing .AN ccTLDs (the extension has been active since 1993) from their databases and systems on October 31, 2013. By October 31, 2014 all .AN domains will be excluded from the DNS root server managed by IANA. Existing .AN domains with an active zone record need to move to the .CW Zone as soon as possible.  .CW was provisioned to all registrants that had previously registered a .AN domain in November of 2012.

Dot AN is the ccTLD of the former Netherlands Antilles, which was dissolved in 2010 into two new autonomous countries, Curaçao (.CW) and St. Maarten (.SX).

If you have any questions about the removal of .AN domains, or would like to check the availability of a domain name, please contact your Safenames account manager. You may also contact Safenames in the UK +44 1908 200022 (emeasales@safenames.net) or in the US at +1.703.574.5313 (nasales@safenames.net).

The .XXX registry has significantly reduced the cost of domain name registrations for the month of May, 2013. Although the .XXX extension is primarily targeted at businesses and individuals within the adult entertainment industry, .XXX impacts most mainstream brands with an online presence. Whether you’re an organization in the adult industry and plan to use .XXX, or an organization outside of the sponsoring industry wanting to protect your site/intellectual property from .XXX (in which case no trademark is required), this price reduction makes it a great time to get the .XXX domain(s) you were unable to get during Trademark Sunrise.

If you have any questions about registering .XXX domain names, please contact your Safenames account manager. You may also contact us in the UK at +44 1908 200022 (emeasales@safenames.net) or in the US at +1 703 574 5313 (nasales@safenames.net).

The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) Executive Board recently announced that .NG (Nigeria) domain names are now available at the second level (SLD) for general registration for a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 10 years. While .NG is specifically the ccTLD for Nigeria, it may also be used for vanity domains and other generic names (two examples of existing second-level .ng domain names are “bi.ng” and “google.ng”).

•  As of April 2013 any company, organization, or individual can register a second-level .NG domain name(s).
• There is no Trademark Sunrise period and/or local presence requirements.
• The .NG registry is reserving a list of “premium” second-level .NG domains, which will be available only via auction at a later date.

If you have any questions about the .NG extension or would like to register a second-level .NG domain(s), log in to the Safenames IDP today or contact your Safenames account manager. You may also contact us in the UK at +44 1908 200022 (emeasales@safenames.net) or in the US at +1 703 574 5313 (nasales@safenames.net).

General Availability for .SX (the new ccTLD of the constituent country of Sint Maarten, which became autonomous on October 10, 2010) opens on November 15, 2012. Anyone will be able to register .SX domains regardless of location—and there are no local contact requirements. Registering in country domains is the best way to optimize your naming strategy and strengthen your domain portfolio.

If you have any questions about the .SX extension or would like to check the availability of a .SX domain name, please contact your Safenames account manager. You may also contact the Safenames in the UK +44 1908 200022 (emeasales@safenames.net) or in the US at +1.703.574.5313 (nasales@safenames.net).

Nominet, the registry for UK (United Kingdom) domains, has proposed a new service called direct.uk, which is primarily for businesses that are located in the UK or are doing business in the UK. This new domain name registration option would potentially offer shorter domain names registered at the second level (i.e., www.yourbusiness.uk) and a comprehensive bundle of security features (which have not yet been identified). Nominet is currently seeking input from all stakeholders on the potential introduction of this new service.

If you have any questions about the potential launch of .uk domains, please contact your Safenames Account Manager or contact Safenames Customer Support in the UK at +44 1908 200022 (emeasales@safenames.net) or in the US at +1 703 574 5313 (nasales@safenames.net). We will keep you posted as new information is released on this impending launch.

The Chinese Registry (.CN) is now offering ASCII.IDN domain names (e.g., domain. 中国) for the .CN extension. Previously, .CN domains could only be registered as ASCII.ASCII or IDN.IDN. For languages that include diacritics, IDNs are the best means of communication for domain holders because they reflect the pronunciation of their identity and/or their brand. And it allows domain holders to optimize their naming strategies.

This launch presents an opportunity for brand owners to register their international brand name with a true Chinese extension. The new ASCII.中国 domain names are launching in 3 phases:

1. Sunrise 1 Phase—September 16 through October 11, 2012: Priority phase for trademark holders; trademarks of Mainland China and trademarks outside of China are eligible; in the event that multiple applications are received for the same domain name, domain will be allocated on a first come first serve basis
2. Sunrise 2 phase—October 15 through October 22, 2012: Priority phase for existing holders of .CN domain names; the corresponding alphabetical and numerical .中国 domain names must be registered through the same registrar as the alphabetical and numerical .CN domain names
3. General Launch Phase—October 29, 2012: ASCII.中国 domain names registrations open to all individuals and organizations; available domain names will be allocated on a first-come, first served basis

If you have any questions about Chinese ASCII.IDN domains, please contact your Safenames Account Manager or contact Safenames Customer Support in the UK at +44 1908 200022 (emeasales@safenames.net) or in the US at +1 703 574 5313 (nasales@safenames.net).