The launch of the .SAARLAND domain (Top Level Domain, TLD in short) will be divided into four phases: the Sunrise period for trademark owners (July 17 - September 15, 2014), the Founders Program for companies and individuals with innovative utilization concepts (July 17 – August 16, 2014), the Landrush phase for securing popular domains (September 23 - October 22, 2014) and the General Availability as of October 30, 2014. From then, everybody is able to register .SAARLAND domains on a “first-come, first-served” basis. The dotSaarland GmbH, the operator of .SAARLAND, can already be found under nic.saarland.
.SAARLAND starts with the Sunrise and the Founders Program on July 17. During the Founders Program (July 17 – August 16, 2014) everyone with a utilization concept tailored to the Saarland can apply for a .SAARLAND domain name. The program offers the unique opportunity to acquire a valuable, intuitive and short domain name directly at an early stage. The applications for domain names are judged by an independent panel, which is inserted by the dotSaarland e.V. Further information about the Founders Program will be announced shortly by the dotSaarland GmbH, the operator of .SAARLAND.
In the Sunrise period (July 17 – September 15, 2014) .SAARLAND domains will be available for brand owners (Sunrise A). In addition, the Sunrise is open to holders of similar rights from the Saarland, officially registered companies, associations and statutory corporations (Sunrise B). Valid Sunrise applications have priority over all those from the other launch phases. Thus, the Sunrise offers applicants the opportunity to protect their rights: They can apply for .SAARLAND domain names that correspond with their brand (Sunrise A) or with their registered / statutory name (Sunrise B).
The third phase after Founders Program and Sunrise, the so-called Landrush (September 23 – October, 22 2014) allows priority registrations for individuals and legal entities that have no brand, but still want an early, preferred access to a particular domain. During the Landrush applications from the Saarland are favored in order to further promote the regional character of the TLD. The Landrush will be created as an application process and not carried out according to the "first come, first served" principle: In case of multiple, valid applications for the same domain name, there will be a closed auction between the applicants.
With the beginning of the General Availability on October 30, 2014 .SAARLAND domains will become available for registration by all interested parties in accordance with the "first come, first served" principle. Non-binding and free for pre-orders for .SAARLAND domains can already be submitted with several registrars.
All .SAARLAND registration applications in the Sunrise, Landrush and General Availability must be submitted through an .SAARLAND accredited registrar.
Applications for registrations in the Founders Program will be submitted directly to the dotSaarland GmbH.