DENIC releases dw.de, e.de, f.de, g.de, hr.de, sr.de, x.de, y.de and z.de for registration

On 12 January 2011, 10:00 CET, the central German registry DENIC is going to make available nine short domains for registration which were previously blocked due to temporary injunctions: dw.de, e.de, f.de, g.de, hr.de, sr.de, x.de, y.de and z.de.

The registration procedure

Registration will be made applying DENIC's standard "first come, first served" principle. Since the number of available domains is extremely limited, DENIC will use a special procedure: Applicants will have to submit requests by fax to fax numbers established for this particular purpose. This will be the only permitted submission channel. There will be a separate fax number for each domain, which will be active for a period of 30 minutes. The first period will start on 12 January 2011 at 10:00 CET.

DENIC will accept only registration requests which are submitted on a specific request form designed for this purpose. Interested parties can download this form from the DENIC website: There is a separate form for each domain.

The fax server is configured to receive no more than one page per fax transmission and will automatically terminate the connection after one page. Thus, interested parties must ensure that their fax machine will not include a cover sheet for the transmission or spread the text over two pages. The above mentioned fax number will be connected 24 hours before the official launch of the registration period, so that own fax configurations can be tested.

The application form must be completed accurately, fully and legibly, and be signed before it is sent to DENIC. The domain will be assigned to the applicant whose complete, correctly filled in and signed fax application is received first by DENIC after opening of the registration period of the respective domain – synchronized with the time server of DENIC (ntp1.denic.de). Factual registration will be effected immediately afterwards, the domain simultaneously being recorded in the DENIC database. After that, it can ad hoc be queried via the DENIC information services (whois etc.).

In general, interested parties have to ensure that the registration and intended use of the domain does not infringe anybody else’s rights nor break any general law.

The holders of the successfully registered domains will be informed by DENIC in writing and must communicate by 26 January 2011 (date of receipt of letter or fax by DENIC) the member of the DENIC Cooperative who is going to administer the domain in the future. Otherwise, the domain will be administered by DENICdirect. 

The aforementioned domains were excluded from registration when DENIC launched one- and two-character domains in October 2009 because temporary injunctions had been imposed on DENIC which prohibited registration of said domains for the time being. These temporary injunctions are no longer effective. As regards the dw.de domain, the applicant withdrew her motion for a temporary injunction. The applicant of the domains e.de, f.de, g.de, x.de, y.de and z.de waived his rights resulting from the temporary injunction after the Frankfurt Court of Appeals had ruled in favour of DENIC in the main proceedings of the x.de domain. The temporary injunctions relating to the hr.de and the sr.de domains were just lifted by the Frankfurt Court of Appeals. In its ruling, the Frankfurt Court of Appeals confirms permissibility of the registration standard of DENIC, which provides for the option to carry out registrations, including first registrations of domains at a specific point in time set by DENIC, applying the "first come, first served" principle. Similar reasons had been given by the Court of Appeals when it confirmed the ruling issued by the Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main in October 2009, which rejected to issue a temporary injunction that would have compelled DENIC to also block registration of the tv.de domain at that time. Thus, all attempts of individual applicants to evade the "first come, first served" principle with regard to the release of short domains or to be granted privileges have failed. To view all decisions go to our website.

DENIC eG

As the central registry, DENIC administers the now more than 14 million domains under the Top Level Domain .de and thus provides a crucial resource for users of the Internet. It sees its role as that of a competent, impartial provider of services for all domain holders and Internet users. With more than 120 employees, DENIC creates the foundation through its work for German Internet pages and e-mail addresses to be accessible throughout the world. The about 270 members of the Cooperative are IT or telecommunications businesses based in Germany and elsewhere. Working in cooperation with them and other partners, DENIC is committed to guarantee the secure operation of the Internet and its further worldwide development as a not-for-profit organization.
It operates the automatic electronic registration system for its members, runs the domain database for the Top Level Domain .de and the German ENUM domain (.9.4.e164.arpa), manages the name server services for the .de zone and the German ENUM domain at currently 15 locations distributed throughout the world, and renders a considerable contribution to the further organizational and technical development of the Internet in cooperation with international bodies (such as ICANN, CENTR, IETF).

For further information please contact:

Public Relations
Fon: +49 69 27235-274
E-Mail: mailto:presse@denic.de