The Priority Period for the Third Category Will Start on 14 February for the Allocation of Domain Names in the “a.tr” Structure
With the decision (“Decision”) of the Information and Communication Technologies Board (“Board”) dated 15.08.2023 and numbered 2023/İK-BTD/24, a new era has started in terms of domain names in Turkey and the registration of domain names with the "a.tr" structure has become possible.
With the "Procedures and Principles for the Registration of Domain Names with the 'a.tr' Structure" (“Procedures and Principles”) approved under the Decision, the framework for the registration process of domain names with the "a.tr" structure has been determined.
Within the scope of the Procedures and Principles, which entered into force on 14 September 2023, a priority system has been introduced for the allocation of domain names in the "a.tr" structure. According to this priority system, owners of domain names with the ".tr" extension will be given priority to allocate domain names with the "a.tr" structure.
After the allocations to be made within the scope of the priority process, the "first come, first served" rule will be applied for the allocation of available “a.tr” domain names.
In this regard, three categories have been determined in terms of the domain names within the scope of the priority process, which are prioritised against each other.
|
FIRST CATEGORY |
SECOND CATEGORY |
THIRD CATEGORY |
|
a) “a.gov.tr” b) “a.edu.tr” c) “a.tsk.tr” d) “a.bel.tr” e) “a.pol.tr” f) “a.k12.tr” |
“a.org.tr” (allocated by professional organisations with the status of public institutions, public benefit associations, foundations granted tax exemption and employee or employer organisations) |
a)
“a.kep.tr” |
In this context, the priority period for the first and second category has already expired. Thus, as of 14 February 2024, the priority application process will start for the owners of domain names in the third category for the allocation of the versions of these domain names in the "a.tr" structure. Priority applications for the third category will continue until 14 May 2024. Between 14 May 2024 and 14 June 2024, evaluations will be made for the applications and allocation procedures will be carried out.
Since the "first come, first served" principle will be applied for the allocation of domain names in the a.tr structure after the expiry of the priority period, there is a risk that the domain names with ".tr" extension will be allocated in the "a.tr" structure by bad-faith third parties when this rule starts to be applied.
In order to prevent third party domain name allocations that might be filed in bad faith, it is crucial for stakeholders to apply for the "a.tr" versions of their domain names with ".tr" extension in the structure listed above in third category within the priority period.
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