Application for trusted platform underway

The Confederation, which has been entrusted with the operation of the new ".swiss" domain, is giving companies and organizations the opportunity to appear on the Internet on a trustworthy platform that clearly establishes their connection to Switzerland, said Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard at the press conference.

Opening of .swiss in two phases

In a first phase lasting until November 9, 2015, ".swiss" addresses can be applied for for

• trademarks registered in the "Trademark Clearinghouse" (the trademark registration system of the global Internet address management organization ICANN),
• Designations with reference to public-law entities
• as well as for other trademarks and distinctive signs protected in Switzerland (e.g. company names).

According to the information provided, applications can only be submitted by companies and public organizations entered in the Swiss Commercial Register. After checking the validity of the applications, the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) will publish all applications for 20 days so that third parties can either submit a competing application or report any problems. The first domain names will be allocated at the beginning of December 2015

The second phase is scheduled to begin on January 11, 2016. The applications may then concern any type of designation, provided they are submitted by public or private entities that have their registered office as well as a physical administrative headquarters in Switzerland, according to the statement. The requested designation must have a sufficient objective reference to the applicant.

Allocation of addresses

Bakom takes over the administration of the .swiss domain for the Confederation. This means that it checks, publishes and validates each application in accordance with the principles laid down in the Ordinance on Internet Domains (OID). However, it does not register the applications directly; they must be submitted to a registrar for this purpose. A list of registrars can be found at www.nic.swiss. These are in competition with each other and are free to set the selling prices. According to the Uvek ordinance on administrative fee rates in the telecommunications sector, they must pay an annual fee of 90 francs to Bakom to cover the costs of allocating and managing standard domain names. Current market prices range from around CHF 120 to CHF 200.

What about multiple applications?

In the case of several applications for the same name, the domain name will be allocated to the applicant whose project brings the higher added value to the group of people concerned or to the Swiss community, as was stated at the press conference. Accordingly, public corporations would have priority over holders of rights to a trademark or a company name. If there are several applications, a domain name can also be allocated by auction or not at all, depending on the case.

Generic names such as www.hotel.swiss or www.watch.swiss are of particular interest to all or part of the Swiss community and will therefore only be allocated from 11 January 2016 in accordance with special rules following a call for applications or on the basis of a spontaneous application. Through this allocation by so-called name allocation mandate, these addresses can be put at the service of the entire community concerned (e.g. allocation to an association representing the entire profession), as the Bakom media release concludes.