The details of New Zealand domain names.

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gnfb

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#281410 16-Feb-2021 13:01

I wanted to discuss the .nz and .co.nz situation or a scenario.

So lets say i buy domain.nz and register it

say there is no business that has registered the name or pty ltd company etc using it.

now another person buys domain.co.nz and register's a business and the name

can that person get me to stop using the name domain.nz ?

conversely if i register domain.nz as business or company can i stop them using domain.co.nz?

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rhy7s

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#2657516 16-Feb-2021 14:04

You'll need both, when they were introducing .nz there was a conflict resolution period for a while that gave priority to people with domains that would clash.

xpd

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#2657520 16-Feb-2021 14:08

If they registered a company name before you registered the domain, then they do have some weight on their side.

But if it was AFTER you bought the domain, no, dont think theres much they can do.

My domain (xpd.co.nz) is coming up 20 years old, and I've never been approached by any of the companies that use "XPD" as a brand etc.

Just depends what the name is really. Looking through the DNC disputes, theres quite a few big players who hit NZ domain owners and generally "win". But one that sticks to my mind, is "lenovo.co.nz" - Lenovo tried taking it and got knocked back because the owner had it for quite some time, and was not using it to draw similar business in - it was actually a character name they used in WoW or Everquest or something.

XPD / Gavin

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freitasm

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#2657586 16-Feb-2021 14:56

If you are serious about your business you would get both .nz and .co.nz from the start and redirect to the one you plan to use.

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gnfb

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#2657592 16-Feb-2021 15:12

freitasm:

If you are serious about your business you would get both .nz and .co.nz from the start and redirect to the one you plan to use.

For sure I was looking at a domain that .co.nz is taken no website no name registered and the .nz is available hence the question

Is an English Man living in New Zealand. Not a writer, an Observer he says. Graham is a seasoned 'traveler" with his sometimes arrogant, but honest opinion on life. He loves the Internet!.

I have two shops online allshop.nz patchpinflag.nz
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1101

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#2658085 17-Feb-2021 10:00

gnfb:

can that person get me to stop using the name domain.nz ?

conversely if i register domain.nz as business or company can i stop them using domain.co.nz?

If push comes to shove , how much are you willing to pay for legal fees .
Legal costs (ongoing lawyers fees) can be used as leverage to get the other party to give up , when one party can afford legal costs and the other cant (my old boss did this, often) .
Look at all the small businesses being forced to change the name they used for generations because it was the similar to a well known brand , because they couldnt afford to fight it in court .

BlakJak

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#2660670 21-Feb-2021 19:09

gnfb:
freitasm:

If you are serious about your business you would get both .nz and .co.nz from the start and redirect to the one you plan to use.

For sure I was looking at a domain that .co.nz is taken no website no name registered and the .nz is available hence the question

If the name is registered you'll be able to see using whois (dnc.org.nz) who the name is registered to.

If it's registered to a business then you have to consider what actions they may take.

Also consider the risks of an obvious conflict - misaddressed emails are going to go to the wrong org (or fail) and then there's mistyped attempts to access the website, etc.

I'd work to deconflict as much as possible.

In basic terms every domain is first-in first-served (reference https://www.dnc.org.nz/resource-library/policies/1479#processfortheregistrationofdomainnames #7.3) and later paragraphs discuss conflicted names - but businesses who owned .co.nz names were given the option to express interest in straight .nz names years ago and if they havn't picked it up, fair game for you.

But consider whether you want the overhead that'll go with this.

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#2660674 21-Feb-2021 19:19

You would also make sure that you can register the company name as well, and possibly look into the trademark situation for it, as if someone else has a trademark in a slightly related field then thats a slam dunk to get it off you.

Also see too many stupid hard to spell things The importance of domain name is much less than in the past since most people just seem to google for things or look for them on facebook, so along with domain names make sure you get get a decent name across all of facebook, instagram, twitter, and all the others that I forget off the top of my head.

Richard rich.ms

gnfb

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#2660941 22-Feb-2021 09:47

Thank you all once again for the comprehensive reply G

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Quinny

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#2661039 22-Feb-2021 11:13

Ok so I was exactly this. There was no Quinny.co.nz and I instead got Quinny.nz on release on the understanding that this would mean the co.nz could never be sold as I had the higher domain.

Turns out that quietly the rules got changed and you can get anything now.

Here is where it gets worse. In April 2019 I got an email from lawyers in Australia demanding the domain name Quinny.nz. To say I was stressed was an understatement. Luckily I have some legal type friends who advised me to contact the Domain Name Commission. After an awesome chat, she emailed me that no I do not have to give up (as had been using legitimately including email and website). If they filed a dispute with Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) I would be the respondent. Based on the information I had provided they would not win as they as an international company had plenty of time to do a NZ website. She said they would more likely go after someone else.

Here it gets even more funny. When I googled quinny.co.nz it redirected to mummum.co.nz which included a knockoff of the Quinny stroller. Hmm. Anyway never heard back from Aussie but you guessed it a few months later no redirect. They had gone after them rather than me.

If anyone is ever caught in the same situation call Domain Name Commission as they were incredible. Meanwhile, my wee website for my Samoyeds lives on.

BlakJak

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#2661042 22-Feb-2021 11:20

Quinny:

Ok so I was exactly this. There was no Quinny.co.nz and I instead got Quinny.nz on release on the understanding that this would mean the co.nz could never be sold as I had the higher domain.

Turns out that quietly the rules got changed and you can get anything now.

This was never the case as far as I know. The only limitations were transitional to give holders of 3rd level domains (under co.nz net.nz etc) a fair shot at getting their equivalent 2nd Level. That time has well passed. All .nz names are first-in-first-served.

Here is where it gets worse. In April 2019 I got an email from lawyers in Australia demanding the domain name Quinny.nz. To say I was stressed was an understatement. Luckily I have some legal type friends who advised me to contact the Domain Name Commission. After an awesome chat, she emailed me that no I do not have to give up (as had been using legitimately including email and website). If they filed a dispute with Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) I would be the respondent. Based on the information I had provided they would not win as they as an international company had plenty of time to do a NZ website. She said they would more likely go after someone else.

Here it gets even more funny. When I googled quinny.co.nz it redirected to mummum.co.nz which included a knockoff of the Quinny stroller. Hmm. Anyway never heard back from Aussie but you guessed it a few months later no redirect. They had gone after them rather than me.

If anyone is ever caught in the same situation call Domain Name Commission as they were incredible. Meanwhile, my wee website for my Samoyeds lives on.

Exactly the right outcome. Excellent.

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