Clients in the health and/or health-related fields may be interested in the new top level domain (TLD), .health.  Hospitals, other health care providers, health technology companies, health products companies and health insurance companies are some examples that come to mind.  For example, if you represent a hospital such as Federal Hospital, your client may wish to register a domain name in the .health TLD — e.g., federalhospital.health.

.health is owned by dotHealth LLC.  The dotHealth team is comprised of leaders and entrepreneurs from the health, domain, and tech startup industries.  The .health TLD is being launched in the following phased registration process:

Sunrise/Trademark Access – May 8th – July 7th, 2017

During the Sunrise phase, trademark holders who have recorded their marks with ICANN’s Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) will have the opportunity to claim their .health domain before anyone else by  securing their mark in the .health TLD.  To take advantage of the Sunrise period, the trademark owner must first record its registered mark with the TMCH.  Certain documentation and information is required to apply to record a mark with the TMCH, after which the application will be reviewed, verified and eventually accepted.  This process typically takes only a few days but, that said, clients should act quickly if they wish to take advantage of the Sunrise period.

Industry Access – July 20th – Nov. 30th, 2017

During the Industry Access period, qualified health industry brands, organizations and individuals will be able to register in the .health TLD before the general public. Registrants will be qualified as being a part of the health industry via a token process.

General Availability –  Starting Dec. 5th, 2017

General availability indicates registrations are open to the public, yet backed by .health’s terms and policies that safeguard the credibility of the domain space.

Smith, Gambrell & Russell is a registered Trademark Agent with the TMCH and thus able to register our clients’ marks directly. If you wish further information or assistance in connection with the .health registration process, please feel free to contact the lawyer here at SGR with whom you are working.   Of course, all members of the SGR IP Group will be happy to assist you.

For more information, please contact Jim Bikoff, Internet Practice Group Leader.