Alert 382 - Saudi Arabia - opening up of the '.sa' domain


Previously, registration in Saudi Arabia’s country code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD), '.sa', was restricted to registration in a sub-domain such as ‘.com.sa’ or ‘edu.sa’.  Now, it is possible to register directly in the ‘.sa’ domain e.g. [company name].sa. 

Sunrise period
The Saudi Arabian domain name authority, SaudiNIC, has established a sunrise period for applications: from Monday 10 January 2011 to 7 March 2011.  During this period, applications will be accepted from applicants who had, prior to 6 December 2010, registered the domain name in one of the ‘.sa’ sub-domains.  The domain name being applied for must be identical to the previously registered domain name e.g. a previous registration for ‘rouse.com.sa’ would support an application for ‘rouse.sa’, but not for 'rouselegal.sa'.  
 
The process set out by SaudiNIC is clear and well thought out. Applications filed during the sunrise period should be complete at the time of filing, although applicants will have a seven day grace period within which to correct any deficiencies. No applications will be accepted after the end of the sunrise period. All sunrise applications must be processed prior to the opening of the land rush phase. In the event of two applications for the same domain name being filed during the sunrise period, priority will be given to an application based on a ‘.gov.sa’ domain name; otherwise, priority will be given to the application based on the earliest prior registration. 
 
Land rush phase
The land rush phase opens on 2 May 2011. During this phase, any eligible person may apply to register a ‘.sa’ second level domain (e.g. [company name].sa) on a first come first served basis. SaudiNIC’s regulations set out a fairly strict set of criteria for eligibility to register. The applicant must be a national of Saudi Arabia, a company registered in Saudi Arabia, or the owner of a trade mark registered in Saudi Arabia. The regulations also specify that the domain name must have a reasonable relationship with the applicant. Guidelines issued on 7 December 2010 confirm that the domain name must, effectively, be identical to either the applicant’s name or trade mark.   
 
Comment
Qualifying businesses wishing to register in the ‘.sa’ domain, should apply during the sunrise period, or as early as possible in the land rush period.

Country code top-level domains that have a secondary meaning (such as ‘.tv’ and '.me') can operate as pseudo generic TLDs, attracting significant interest beyond the country concerned. Given that the letters SA indicate corporate entities in some European countries, the ‘.sa’ domain may have similar appeal.  It should be remembered, however, that there are restrictions.  In order to obtain registration, those without a presence in Saudi Arabia will need to rely on a Saudi Arabian trade mark registration.