Nabil Al Yousuf (left) and Ben Crawford (right) of DotBrand Solutions MENAEmpowering Arab Companies to Become the New “.com”

DotBrand Solutions MENA has launched today in the Middle East to empower Arab companies in three ways: (1) to protect their trademarks in the era of new top-level domain names (TLDs); (2) to acquire and operate their own in TLDs as alternatives to .com, .net and country codes; and (3) to secure a leadership role in the introduction of domain names in Arabic script.

DotBrand Solutions MENA is a partnership between the world’s leading “dot-brand” supplier, global domain name registry CentralNic, and a consortium of Middle East businessmen including UAE based Nabil Alyousuf—formerly the Director General of The Executive Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai.

New TLDs are the result of a policy change announced on June 20 by domain name regulator ICANN, which now allows new domain extensions in addition to the traditional “.com” and country codes, including empowering companies to end their domain names with their own brand name, such as .canon or .unicef. Middle Eastern companies will also have the opportunity to run their own generic TLDs such as .music or .green. And all these new domain names can be in multiple languages including Arabic.

“The introduction of dot-brand and Arabic top-level domains signals a new era of internet growth in the Middle East,” commented Nabil Ali Alyousuf. “The Middle East is one of the largest emerging markets in the world, and DotBrand Solutions MENA gives local businesses the opportunity to supply our markets with our own domain names, as well as putting local companies with international ambitions on the same level as their competitors from other regions.”

“Companies and their legal advisors in the Middle East have been contacting our London offices for months, wishing to protect their trademarks through .brand TLDs and to secure the most valuable real estate on the internet,” said Ben Crawford, CEO, CentralNic. “Now we have a local presence with account executives on hand to assist companies throughout the GCC and North Africa. We acquire the TLDs for our clients, and equip them with intelligence on best practice and innovation in this new space, while also serving as a turnkey outsource solution to handle the technical execution.”

Among many benefits, the introduction of .brand TLDs will enable companies in the Middle East to join the world’s leading brands in creating a truly global presence free from both .com as well as local country codes. Dot-brand TLDs will also reduce cybersquatting, knock-off sites and brand abuse.

About DotBrand Solutions:

An end-to-end service, DotBrand Solutions will guide brands through the financial, operational and technical requirements for .brand TLDs, starting with a complimentary assessment. Services include:

• Ensuring that ICANN applications are successful in obtaining the TLDs
• Technical outsource solutions that exceed ICANN specifications
• Peer group intelligence and information on strategic use of TLDs
• Simple domain name management systems
• Sales and distribution