New figures released by .eu domain register Eurid show that applications for the new domain have reached nearly 171,000 across Europe, but with the first sunrise period for the domain due to close next Monday, there has been a luke warm response so far from UK companies.
The UK currently lags behind in fourth place with only 10 percent of applications, according to the Eurid figures, well behind the leader Germany which has 35 percent, but this is fairly true to form, according to Kate Ellis of law firm Eversheds.
"[Registrations] usually follow the [same pattern as] country code top level domain (TLD) registrations, because Germany led the way in Europe with [those], " she explained. "But the feedback we're getting is that firms are interested if they're aware of it."
Pipex's domain registration group 123-reg has received over 15,000 pre-registrations and said that many UK companies are applying to promote their business across Europe and boost credibility in different regions.
But Evershed's Ellis argued that the second .eu sunrise period, which begins next Tuesday, may see a slowing down in applications as companies may be put off by the strict qualifying rules. They will need an affidavit from a lawyer confirming their "prior rights", including unregistered trademarks or company names, in order to register, she added.
