.Pro domain to launch in July, but few professionals qualify

There is some comfort for those not meeting the strict eligibility criteria: the names will not be catchy.

Short names – such as legaleagles.pro – are not available. Instead, a licensed lawyer would need to register legaleagles.law.pro. A chartered public accountant can only register a name ending .cpa.pro. And a licensed doctor must use the extension .med.pro.

Given that the public will be initially unfamiliar with .pro domains, their double-barrelled nature will dampen any marketing potential.

RegistryPro, the registry that will control the database of .pro domain name registrants, intends to open the domain to other professions and jurisdictions in future – but does not commit to a timeframe, the type of eligible profession or whether additional sub-domains will apply – for example, engineers.uk.eng.pro.

It is offering a service called ProReserve that allows non-US professionals to reserve a .pro name until the registry goes live in the country of the applicant – although details are hard to find on the site.

Last week, RegistryPro began its Sunrise Period, a typical phase of new domain name roll-outs that lets owners of registered trade marks secure their rights before the names go on a first-come, first-served basis in July.

This period will also be open to those trade mark owners not practicing in the US; but presumably this will just block any third party obtaining rights in a domain name without giving a non-US company the right to use a .pro domain name. Registrar fees approach a staggering $3,000 for protection of one trade mark across all profession-specific domains, for a fixed 4-year period.

Unlike other domain names, successful registrants will be given a digital certificate which can be used as a digital signature and a means of encrypting messages. Consequently, the basic cost of registration is higher than typical domain names, at $300 per year, compared with around $20 - $30 for a .com registration.

See: www.registrypro.pro