Odnoklassniki is having problems with its .rf domain.

The Russian segment of the internet has already encountered problems caused by the introduction of the Cyrillic domain zone. The Ukrainian Internet may face similar problems a little later, with the introduction of the .УКР zone in the Ukrainian segment of the internet. Therefore, we decided to inform our readers about the events taking place in our neighboring countries.

One high-profile example demonstrating the potential problems of the .RF zone was the inability to obtain a domain name for the social network Odnoklassniki.ru. One of the most popular social networks was denied permission to register the domain name "odnoklassniki.rf."

The service's owners wanted to register the domain names odnoklassniki.rf and odnoklassniki.rf. However, the company was denied registration. The main reason for this denial was the .rf domain registration regulations—the Odnoklassniki network trademark does not comply with these regulations.

The regulations state that "the domain must fully reproduce the verbal designation of the trademark and consist only of letters of the Russian alphabet." The Odnoklassniki network trademark is a graphic logo containing letters of the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets.

The company filed an application for separate trademarks several months ago, but while the bureaucratic red tape drags on, it is theoretically possible that another company will register its trademark and receive a domain in the Cyrillic segment.

The example of the Odnoklassniki company demonstrates the problems that any company can face when introducing a domain zone in a different alphabet, for example, Cyrillic.