cctld Do you really have to be eligible to register .CA?

[Snarb]

Will CIRA pull you if you are not?

I'm a US citizen and have no ties to Canada.

 

[msn]

Will CIRA pull you if you are not?

I'm a US citizen and have no ties to Canada.

CIRA is clear on this in its policy. Any 'ties to Canada' are of no import.

Generally, you must fit into one of these main groups:

Citizen of Canada - where you live, either in Canada or abroad is not considered, only the status itself.

Legal resident - here you must be a legal, permanent resident and upon leaving, your permission to hold a .ca domain name is gone.

Corporate Entity based in Canada - also trusts, foundations and similar incorporated entities under Canadian jurisdiction. You could go to Ontario, form a company, and it could hold a registration, provided the company itself was legally established and maintained in Canada. If you do not maintain the company, the director is then the holder, but if the director is not otherwise qualified to own the domain registrations, they also go.

Owner of a registered trade mark at CIPO - if you have a valid trade mark registration - not simply an application - with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, you are permitted to register a matching, identical .ca domain name. It does not permit you to register multiple, non-matching domain names unless each has a valid registered trade mark in Canada associated with it.

Now, some outfits use MarkMonitor to register domains on their behalf, so as to skirt the CIRA policy. MarkMonitor set up a company in Canada in order to hold registrations for non-qualifying parties, and until now CIRA has looked the other way. Technically, these registrations are often improper as they were made with the intent to allow parties outside of Canada who would not be permitted to make use of the resource - the .ca domain name - by qualified Canadian registrants or in the interests of Canadian users.

Other companies, mainly .ca registrars, offer similar constructs, but these tend to be either numbered holding companies with uncertain status, as with MarkMonitor, or simple "we hold it for you and trust us to not lose it" arrangements due to the murky legal aspects when they are obviously going against the intent of the very policy they are required to uphold.

If you were going to purchase high-value registrations then you would be best advised to consult a specialist in this area, meaning you can PM me later.

 

[katherine]

http://www.dnforum.com/f510/cira-warning-all-ca-owners-thread-219515.html

 

[CanSpace]

The answer is a solid YES.

Even if you are able to register the domain using false information or through some sort of 'proxy' (which is also not allowed by the way)... they will eventually come after you and can and will take the domain away unless you meet the Canadian presence requirements.