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Under the program, celebrities from entertainment, art, culture, sports, business,politics, academia, are invited to participate as Celebrity Pioneers. Celebritynames are often neglected in the startup of a new domain registry. Yet they areoften highly vulnerable to cyber-squatting. Through the Celebrity Pioneers Program,renowned individuals can utilize their .Asia domain to reach fans all over Asia fortheir next concert, movie or tour, while protecting their personal brand online.
Mr. Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia joined hands with specially invited celebrities andguests to unveil the Celebrity Pioneer Program today. Guests included acclaimednovelist Zita Law, columnist Joe Nieh, singer Remus Choy (Choy Yat Kit), Feng Shuimaster Mak Ling Ling, celebrity make-up artist Rick Chin, as well as Roy Szeto(Director of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre), James Chan (Director of InternetInternational Federation Against Copyright Theft - Greater China), and Mr. CharlesMok (Chairman of Internet Society Hong Kong).
Mr. Chung remarked, We are extremely pleased to have received very positive andenthusiastic response around the world since the launch of .Asia Sunrise processlast October. Nevertheless, the awareness in the Asia region for online brandprotection is still relatively weak, especially for celebrities and artists in theregion. As the intellectual property right infringement in the creative industryhas been increasingly abused in recent years, many celebrities and movie stars arefinding it more difficult to protect their work online. The Celebrity PioneerDomains Program is especially designed to raise the awareness of the importance ofname protection amongst entertainment, sports and other creative celebrities. DotAsia believes that the Celebrity Pioneer Domains Program could also help raisethe general awareness for proactive protection of online intellectual propertyrights.
Mr. Sam Ho, Executive Director and General Manager, International Federation AgainstCopyright Theft - Greater China (IFACT-GC) says, IFACT-GC is pleased to be able towork with DotAsia to protect the Film and TV industry in this region. We hope ourjoint effort will serve to deter the growth of online piracy in Asia . Mr. CharlesMok, Chairman of Internet Society Hong Kong, commented saying, Domain names havealready become a crucial part of branding in the IT era today. Domains containingnames of celebrities are often quickly snatched by cyber-squatters. Owners then endup paying exorbitant prices to buy them back. Renowned individuals from all fieldsshould take this golden opportunity to protect their names and prevent suchmisfortunes from happening.
Celebrities are thrilled to learn about the launch of the Celebrities PioneersProgram by DotAsia.
Artists in Hong Kong do not pay enough attention to the protection of theirpersonal name brand online, especially in the preservation of corresponding domainnames. The Celebrity Pioneer Domains Program is therefore a great idea. Not onlyam I applying immediately for myself, I will definitely recommend it for my friendsin the industry. says Mr. Joe Nieh. Zita Law added that, The effort from DotAsiato protect the intellectual property rights of artists online by allowing renownedindividuals to register their own names with priority is a noble cause worth all thesupport. Rick Chin expressed that, I am delighted to see the launch of a newInternet address that comes from Asia and represents Asia. In the past the choicewas only the already very crowded .com space or the local domain. The launch of.Asia is a perfect timing for the trend towards a global economy with emphasis onregional markets, such as the Asia wide market.
The Celebrity Pioneer Program launched by DotAsia will definitely help artists inHong Kong, like myself, by enhancing the awareness of protecting our own personalbrands online. states Mr. Remus Choy. Mr Roy Szeto concluded in saying, I am gladto finally see an organization come forward with a great program and commitmenttowards the protection and promotion of intellectual property rights online.
Celebrity Pioneers Program Application:
Application Form: Download the Celebrity Pioneer Application Form fromhttp://www.think.asia/cel ebrity.html
Deadline: 13 February, 2008
Submission: By Email - celebrity@pioneerscommission.a sia
By Mail - .Asia Pioneers CommissionDotAsia Organisation LimitedUnit 617, Miramar Tower,132 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha TsuiHong Kong
Upcoming .Asia launch phases:
1. Landrush from 20 Feb to 12 March 2008. This period is open to anyone around theworld who wish to apply for any .Asia domain. If there is more than one applicantinterested in applying for the same domain name, an auction will be held for thedomain between the qualified applicants. Otherwise, domains will be allocatedimmediately to the applicant.
2. Go Live begins on 26 March 2008. From this date onwards, the policy offirst-come-first-serve applies.
About DotAsia Organisation:
DotAsia Organisation (www.dotasia.org) is the Sponsoring Organisation and RegistryOperator for the .Asia Sponsored Generic Top Level Domain. DotAsia is anot-for-profit, community-based organisation incorporated in Hong Kong. Asia hasdeveloped into a global force in the international commercial, political andcultural network. The .Asia domain aspires to embrace this dynamism in the AsiaCentury to become a nucleus, intersection and breeding ground for Internet activityand development in the region. To learn more about DotAsia, please visit:http://www.registry.asi a.
