Donvay Wegierski, director of Werksmans Attorneys and member of its Intellectual Property practice in Stellenbosch, said that the .africa domain was created "by Africans for Africans" and marked Africa's strides in growth and development.
"It will present an opportunity to identify the African continent online for the first time. We expect many existing and new companies across the continent to take up the .africa domain to show to the world where they are from."
The procedure to register .africa domain names is yet to be formally disclosed; however the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") is the co-ordinator of the launch of the new domain names.
"We expect the .africa domain to launch in two phases - first the Sunrise phase and second the Landrush phase," Wegierski added.
During the Sunrise phase, trade mark owners have priority to register .africa domains incorporating their trade marks for a certain period of time.
"It is for this reason that trade mark owners should validate their trade marks at the TradeMark Clearinghouse (TMCH) as only trade mark owners with TMCH validation can take advantage of the Sunrise period," Wegierski advised.
It is only possible for the TMCH only to validate registered trade marks and, therefore, only proprietors of registered trade marks will have preference.
The Landrush phase will open thereafter and domains can be registered on a first-come-first-served basis. The .africa registry will be managed by UniForum SA, trading as ZA Central Registry (ZACR).
UniForum SA was established as a non-profit organisation in 1988 as a professional association to promote and exchange information on open systems. It is the registry operator for the co.za domain names.
Annual registration costs are expected to be reasonable.
Wegierksi said that although the percentage of Internet users in Africa is comparatively low compared to other continents, efforts are being made to improve access to the Internet in Africa. And improved access will translate into better prospects for Africa's economic, social and political future.
Said Wegierski: "Internet access is particularly important in emerging economies as it helps bridge divides such as language, culture, religion and education across countries and continents. "
