.SS Launch – A New Domain Extension That Cannot Be Ignored
South Sudan gained its independence during 2011 and is now gaining its independence online with the launch of its country extension .SS.
The letters “SS” also has an unfortunate association with Schutzstaffel, a paramilitary organization in Nazi Germany.
Proactive Brand Protection
The .SS launch has a direct impact on trade marks owners. Firstly, a defensive registration is essential if you trade in Africa in or around South Sudan or have a well-known trade mark. Secondly, .SS could be exploited during this time of political instability and extremism, which trade marks owners would want to avoid.
Desiderius Erasmus, the Dutch philosopher, accredited with the famous “prevention is better than cure” quote seems applicable to .SS. It is recommend to secure, at the very least, your key trade marks within the .SS name space.
.SS Extensions
It will not be possible to register .SS directly at the second level (e.g. lexsynergy.ss) but rather under the following:
com.ss (e.g. lexsynergy.com.ss) – for companies
net.ss – network operators or ISPs
biz.ss – any business
me.ss – personal use
Launch Information
.SS will launch in the phases listed below.
| Type | Date | Term | Requirements |
| Sunrise | 1 June 2020 – 15 July 2020 | 2 – 10 years | A registered trade mark from any country. The domain is allocated at the end of the period with two identical applications allocated through an auction process. |
| Landrush | 17 July 2020 – 17 Aug 2020 | 1 – 10 years | None. The domain is allocated at the end of the period with two identical applications allocated through an auction process. |
| Early Access | 19 Aug 2020 – 29 Aug 2020 | 1 – 10 years | To be confirmed by the registry |
| General Availability | 1 Sept 2020 | 1 – 10 years | None |
It is our experience that certain country extension launch rules and regulations can change on short notice. We therefore advise that you get in touch to ensure that you apply during the correct or most relevant phase. Certain domains may be reserved due to them being premium or reserved.
Costs
The costs for the various .SS extensions can be found at https://www.lexsynergy.com/tld/new-gtld-launches
For assistance with registering a domain in the Sunrise phase, please email [email protected]
For information on different brand protection service we offer please visit https://www.lexsynergy.com/brand-protection
Lexsynergy team