NeuStar, the company which recently won the right to take over management of the .us country-code top level domain, yesterday announced that the general US public will be able to register names from 24th April 2002.

The domain has existed for many years but was little used, unlike equivalent country codes in, for example, the UK, France and Germany.

Until now, the naming structure for the .us domain was based on national geography, in four levels, which made it an unpopular choice for businesses. The first level was .us. The second level domain was the applicant’s state, then the third level domain was the city or county. Finally, the fourth level domain could be assigned to an organisation or to an individual. The new system will allow registrations of, for example, companyname.us.

Under the new system, trade mark owners will be given an advance period for registration to beat the cybersqatters, beginning 4th March. This Sunrise Period is being limited to owners of existing or pending US trade marks prior to the opening of public registration.

From 24th April, at least 29 accredited companies will begin accepting .us registrations from the general public on a first come, first served basis. The names are open to all companies worldwide, so long as they and their customers meet the eligibility requirements and policies.

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