Client Update | Eligibility for .EU Domain Names Following Brexit
20 February 2019
Should the UK leave the EU without a deal on 30 March, 2019, the EURid, the registry manager of .eu domain names, will no longer allow registration of any new domain names where the registrant’s country code is either Great Britain or Gibraltar.
If you currently hold any .eu domain names on the basis of residency, registered office or incorporation in Great Britain or Gibraltar, you will have two months from 30 March, 2019, to either update the contact details for your domain names or transfer them to a registrant from another eligible EU jurisdiction.
If no change is made within this two-month period, the status of the domain name will be changed to “withdrawn”, meaning that it would no longer support any active services but the record would remain and the domain name could be reactivated if the updated eligibility criteria are satisfied. Domain names which are not reactivated will be revoked on 30 March, 2020.
Based on the foregoing, we recommend checking the basis for your .eu domain name registrations. If such basis is incorporation or residency in Great Britain or Gibraltar, we recommend updating this to the extent possible or taking measures to do so in the foreseeable future, such as by way of transfer to a subsidiary that meets the relevant criteria.
Key Contact: Karen Elburg | Partner Head of Intellectual Property Practice