Policy for Registering Domain Names on the .LK Top Level Domain.
The following is the current set policy for accepting applications for the registration of domains in the .lk domain.

· The domains will be registered on a first come first served basis.

· All applications must be forwarded with a clear justification for the reason of selecting the domain name. It should be accompanied with a declaration that the applicant is entitled to the name.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of common reasons for selecting domain names.

· trademark registered in Sri Lanka

· trademark used in Sri Lanka but not registered

· name assigned by statute, registered company name or business name (or part or abbreviation thereof) (please provide the full registered name)

· name by which the organisation is commonly known

1. Names should not include trademarks of other parties or words which are not permitted in business names, unless the applicant is legally entitled to use such words. Names which are offensive, obscene, or may confuse or grossly mislead the public, should not be selected.

The following section describes the names that will not be allowed in the registry.

· The name Sri Lanka in any form (but, anything preceding lanka and following lanka will be allowed. i.e. ABClanka.lk, lankaABC.lk)

· Top level domains (eg. com.lk, co.lk, org.lk, or.lk, net.lk, ne.lk, etc.. ) and proposed new Global Top Level Domains.

· Towns, Provinces and abbreviations thereof. (eg. colombo.lk, kandy.lk, western.lk, cmb.lk, etc..)

· Names that may be offensive, obscene, or grossly misleading to any accepted religion, race, culture or tradition of Sri Lanka.

· Generic Names. Some names considered generic are:

o Professions (eg. lawyer.lk, doctor.lk, etc..)

o Internet Services (eg. internet, mail.lk, www.lk, web.lk, ftp.lk, etc..)

o Generic Products (eg. tea.lk, coconut.lk, toffee.lk, etc..)

o Generic Services (eg. isp.lk, hosting.lk, etc..)

o Names of Sports (eg. cricket.lk, tennis.lk, etc..)

o Other generic terms...

They are not registered under .lk, but may be registered under open second levels or to organizations, or associations which represent the relevant industry as a whole. However,
any generic name starts with "e " or "e-" could be accepted.

Eg: e ’generic ’.lk or e-‘generic ’.lk

2. In some cases, where the Registry considers that a name may have multiple IPR owners, the applicant may be asked for a letter which agrees, as part of their request for name registration, to indemnify and hold the LK Domain Registry harmless from any and all costs, fees, expenses arising from litigation involving trademark, trade name, service mark, and any other name infringements, or other reasons (such a clause is already present in the application).



3. It is suggested that the domain name be the name or abbreviation by which the organisation is generally known, unless that name has been assigned to another organisation, or is commonly used by another organisation.



4. Names should be short (no more than 10 characters is recommended). Names should comprise only the letters a-z, the digits 0-9 and the dash -. Names should not begin or end in a dash. Names should not consist of a single character.



5. Names with hyphens will be regarded as separate entities. (i.e. abc-def.lk and abcdef.lk will be two separate domains)



6. Domain Names are, in general, registered to organisations (corporations, firms and associations) but may be registered to individuals for purposes similar to the following :

Professionals

Artistes

Political Candidates– Letter signed by the candidate should be submitted.



7. Any names where the Hostmaster has any doubts on their suitability are referred to the domain

review panel, consisting of persons with expertise and experience in the field. The panel is expected to send in their comments within three working days. The Domain Registrar will decide on the registration based on the majority views of the panel. If the panel is undecided, or irresolvable issues remain, or the applicant requests a re-review, the application is submitted to the Board for a final decision.



8. Administration Contacts should be from the Domain Name owner. Not from the Company who is handling the domain name or hosting the website! This is for the purpose of ensuring that the

Registry can contact them if needed. For domains registered by agents, the Registry will generally communicate only with the agent.



9. All registrations under the top-level domain ensure that the domain name is blocked in all the open second levels provided the second level domain is available. If they wish to use the open second level domain names in addition to the top level domain, it can be done by configuring DNS entries for the open second level domain, but DNS for both top level and second level should be hosted on the same machine.



Note: There is no extra payment for such registration of a secondary level domain.



10. .gov.lk –has been allocated to the Government of Sri Lanka. Only Government organisations and Departments are allowed to register under this category. Government organisations wishing to register under this second level domain should register as a 3rd level domain under .gov.lk with their CORRECT NAME. e.g., fdept.gov.lk

Registering under .gov.lk automatically reserves it’s corresponding top level domain and all open second level domains.

11. Foreign companies who don’t have a local presence can only reserve their Top Level and

corresponding Open Second Level Domains. (either through LK Domain Registry or Agents). In

order to register and use a name we require a contact address in Sri Lanka (which may be obtained through an agent or law firm).