Albania Improves Domain Name Procedures and Purchase Requirements

On January 23, 2013, the Albanian Electronic and Postal Communication Authority (AKEP), the central registrar of the Albanian .al domain and subdomain names, introduced amendments to the Regulation on the Registration and Administration of .al Domain Names and Subdomains, outlining administrative procedures and technical requirements for the domain name registration. The amendments will enter into force on May 1, 2013.

As of May 1, all procedures such as new registrations, renewals, deactivations and data changes, will be performed by one of the registrars authorized by AKEP. The regulation sets May 1 as the date when the accreditation process will begin.

The new administrative procedures will lead to a decrease in the official fees for the registration of new and the renewal of existing domain names.

Most importantly, the changes aim to liberalize the purchase of country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) under the .al zone, by granting this right to foreign companies, provided that they can prove that they do business in their countries. Until now, this right belonged only to Albanian citizens and entities or foreign companies that had their subsidiaries in the Albanian territory.

Before the amendments, foreign companies were not entitled to register the ccTLDs in their own names, even if they successfully challenged the Albanian owners that had registered and/or used a domain name similar to theirs.

By: Irma Cami

For more information, please contact Irma Cami at our Albanian office.