Upcoming changes by the Turkish government will soon alter how some Turkish ccTLD domain name registrations are allocated and managed, following which such domain names will become available for registration on a first-come, first-served basis. Supporting documentation (such as proof of an existing Turkish trademark registration or Turkish business license) will no longer be required for ‘com.tr’, ‘org.tr’, ‘net.tr’, ‘gen.tr’, ‘biz.tr’, ‘tv.tr’, ‘web.tr’, ‘info.tr’, ‘bbs.tr’, ‘tel.tr’, and ‘name.tr’ domain names.
Furthermore, all existing Turkish domain name registrations will need to be migrated to a new registrar once the changes to the operation of the registry are implemented. Following the migration, all domain name maintenance activities will be handled through the registrar (including renewals, changes to account information, etc.) rather than the .TR registry. A list of accredited registrars to which .TR domain names can be migrated is available here, but additional registrars, hopefully, will be added to this list over the next few months. Other registrars (such as MarkMonitor, CSC, Key Systems) should be able to assist with the migration.
The changes to the Turkish system will also eventually allow for the transfer and sale of existing .TR domain name registrations, and will see the implementation of a new domain name dispute procedure; hopefully, one more similar to the UDRP.
In light of these changes, some registrars are offering “pre-orders” for domain names so that registrants can acquire the domain names they are interested in as soon as the new allocation system goes into effect. If you are interested in acquiring any new .TR domain name registrations, we recommend first consulting with your registrar. If your registrar is unable to assist, please contact the attorneys at Fross Zelnick and we can connect you with a registrar that offers a pre-registration service.
Similarly, if you require assistance with the migration of any existing .TR domain name registrations to an accredited registrar, or if you have any questions about the new rules and procedures for Turkish domain name registrations, please contact us.