I often have a client ask me about an email solicitation that they’ve received from a domain name company in China. They’re asking me if the email is legitimate and whether they need to be worried about it, or if they need to take some kind of action.
Typically this email solicitation mentions the client’s domain name or trademark and then states that some other company in China wants to register a dot-CN equivalent. This Chinese domain registrar company then notes that, after initial checking, they found the name to be similar to my client’s name or trademark, so they want to confirm that my client has authorized this. If they didn’t authorize it, my client is typically given a few days to resolve the issue (usually by paying a fee to this company to register the dot-CN domain in their name).
I find it rather strange that any foreign domain registrar will delay registration of a domain for an existing local customer, just so that it can take look for my client here in Canada and then give them the opportunity to register such domain out from under their original customer.
The Canadian Trade Commissioner now also has a Notice about such emails, as can be seen by going here. This Notice also warns that sometimes such the foreign domain company will ask for documentation, corporate information and other, normally private, information to allow them to register such foreign domain. Care should be taken when emailing or sending such information to such foreign company, as there is usually no guarantee of privacy that such information will not be used for other ends.
I tell my clients that if they really wish for such foreign domain, that they use a reputable and accredited domain name registrar. A list of CNNIC accredited dot-CN registrars can be found here.
For the most part, however, my clients do not want a dot-CN or other foreign domain and they simply ignore the email.
If you have questions about Canadian domain names, domain name disputes or trademarks, you can email us at: sgelsing@gelsing.ca or send us your questions using the Contact Form on the right. We look forward to hearing from you.