From this week, any owner of a Spanish trade mark or Community trade mark can apply to register an .es domain name in Spain.

The .es registry used to be highly restricted, and only applicants with a local contact in Spain could register domain names. But the space is being liberalized in a three-stage process.

The first stage, which lasted from June 7 to July 7 this year, allowed official bodies and organizations to register their names as domain names.

The second phase begins at 9am Spanish time on September 6 and lasts until October 21. During this phase, Spanish companies can apply for domain names identical to their company name, and foreign companies who own or license trade marks or certain other IP rights in Spain can also apply.

Applications based on trade marks, commercial names, denominations of origin or "other rights of industrial property protected in Spain" must match the registered right exactly.

From November 2, anyone in Spain or overseas will be able to apply for an .es domain name.

Domain names in Spain can be registered at the second level, under .es, and at the third level, under .com.es, .nom.es, .org.es, .gob.es and .edu.es.

David Saias, general manager – corporate services at Register.com, welcomed the liberalization: "As Spain is one of the largest economies in Europe it certainly opens doors for corporations that have not considered trading in Spain over the internet."

But he added that .es is a high-risk domain: "Rights owners should look to see if the country offers a dispute resolution and who is eligible to register names. By weighing up these considerations you should be able to make a decision whether to take part in the sunrise period."

More information is available from ESNIC, the Spanish domain name registry, here.