Don’t lose that one special .ie domain name

How the changes to the sale of .ie domain names can be good or bad for your Irish business.

The changes to the way a .ie domain name is acquired have changed.  It is good news for some, but it could mean that you lose an opportunity to purchase that vital, identifiably Irish domain name that is just perfect for your business.

Domain names ending in .ie were once quite difficult to purchase. There were three requirements.  You needed to have a connection to the Island of Ireland, to give proof of your identity and to establish your claim to the name you wished to buy.

The claim to the name was established by including a company registration number or the company VAT number and a letter on headed notepaper requesting the particular name. This made it troublesome for start-up businesses and fledgling companies to secure their .ie identity and their online presence without being fully compliant in other business areas.

This has changed. In an effort to make it easier to buy an identifiably Irish domain name, the IEDR, the Irish registry, have ditched the ‘claim to the name’ criteria.  Now, all that is required is proof of your identity and your connection to the island of Ireland.  This is good for budding micro-businesses and for those who wish to use nicknames, pen names or trendy hipster names.

But there is a note of caution here for all Irish businesses. There is now a likelihood that you could lose that one .ie name that brands and represents your business.  A personal name and service, such as seandalyplumbing.ie or annsflowers.ie, could be purchased by another business, a rival or anyone with a similar claim.  While there is an onus on the purchaser to prove their legitimate connections to Ireland and there will still be verification of the identity of the domain owner, it will be easier to purchase the domains.

There is a dispute resolution policy with the IEDR. However this is a lengthy and tedious process, and is currently under review by the IEDR.

The advice we at Dmac Media are giving to our clients, is to purchase the .ie domain name which relate to you and your business now and especially if you feel that there is a chance it might be lost to you forever. It’s a relatively small outlay to secure your .ie domain name and establish your online persona/brand.

If you want further advice on the liberalisation of .ie domains, the purchase and retention of .ie domains or anything else related, just call the office for a friendly chat or check out the advice on the IEDR website.