The second phase of registration of Cyrillic domains com.ua/kiev.ua begins.

Yesterday, November 17, 2010, the first phase of priority registration for Cyrillic domains at com.ua/kiev.ua concluded. The second phase of registration will begin on November 19 and will last a month. During this period, users will be able to register IDN domains for a 10-year term.

Starting tomorrow, anyone can register their own domain; a trademark is not required. The only requirement is that such domains be registered for 10 years. The price of IDN domains during this period will be standard, and those who register domains during this period will not have to worry about annual renewals for the next 10 years.

"This registration stage is designed to ensure that those users who truly need a Cyrillic domain can obtain one. This procedure will help protect domains from mass registrations."- notesAndrey KhvetkevichDirector of the registrar NIC.UA

Registrar companies note low user activity during the first registration period (for trademarks), and this means that many domains are not yet taken.

The low number of registrations in the first stage was due to the strict requirements imposed on trademarks. Trademarks had to consist exclusively of Cyrillic characters, and if the letters were stylized beyond recognition or ambiguous, such trademarks had to apply to Ukrpatent for a certificate confirming the textual content of their trademark.

As a reminder, the NIC.UA registrar accepts preliminary applications for all stages of Cyrillic domain name registration. You can submit a preliminary application for both the second and third stages of registration before the registration process begins.