Almost certainly not. If you receive an email telling you that it is, it is almost certainly a hoax. They change over time but are usually similar. Unless the CNNIC or an Accredited Registrar approaches you, be careful not to respond to any unsolicited email regarding your company or trade name.

One example of a hoax

Perhaps you have also received the email, or perhaps you will. It is an email from the “department of registration service in China“, along the lines of: “… We formally received an application on {date}. One company “{name of the company}” are applying to register “{your company or trade name}” as an internet brand and CN domain names as below:”

Several domains are then listed for your company or trade name for example .asia, .cn, .com.cn, .net.cn, .org.cn etc.

The email then continues to say: “After our initial examination, we found that the internet brand applied for registration is the same as your company’s name and trademark. … If your company and this”[name of company]”is the same company, there is no need reply to us. We will accept their application and will register those for them immediately. If your company has no relationships with that company nor do not authorized, please reply to us within 7 work days, if we can’t get any information from yours over 7 workdays, we will unconditionally approve the application submitted by “[name of company].”

It looks very believable. But, don’t be fooled – it is a hoax. The email should be considered with caution and we suggest that you ignore and delete it without replying.

Who registers domains in China?

The China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) is solely responsible for the operation and registration of <.cn> domain names. Registrants:

  1. may only make use of companies accredited by the CNNIC, “Accredited Registrars”, to register domain names; and
  2. must register domain names in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the CNNIC in various rules and regulations like the China Internet Domain Name Regulations and the CNNIC Implementing Rules of Domain Name Registrations.

In short, a <.cn> domain name Registrant must:

  1. Sign a registration agreement with an Accredited Registrar;
  2. Complete and submit the application form for domain registrations (which includes providing certain information like the name of the domain and certain personal information on the Registrant) to the CNNIC.

The regulations of The CNNIC Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy apply to Chinese domain name disputes. Contact us if you end up in a dispute and need assistance. We can also assist you to check the availability of a domain name. If the domain name that you want is already taken please read our post called I want that domain name.