Watch Out: Fee To Be Introduced For The Registration And Annual Maintenance Of '.ro' Domains

In December 2016, the Board of Directors of the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics ("ICI") issued a decision for the introduction, (as of July 1st 2017), of a fee for registering ".ro" domains and for the annual maintenance of such domains (the "Decision"). The Decision was in line with the general approach of the European Member States, where such fees have already been implemented.

According to the Decision's provisions, ".ro" domains can only be obtained for a limited period of time (i.e. 1 year or 5 years), and not for an undetermined term, (as is currently the case). At the expiry of such periods, the owner must again pay the applicable fee, should it desire to maintain its ownership of the ".ro" domain. The Decision also provides a series of transitory guidelines for adopting the new rules.

The limitation introduced by the Decision could be seen as a measure to end the current practice that allows for indefinite terms of registration for ".ro" domains, which situation has resulted in many such domain names, (despite being "dormant" or inactive), not being available for newly interested parties to register or use.

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