.cw

.cw is the ccTLD for Curaçao The letters "c" and "w" come from Curaçau, West Indies. It is managed by the University of Curaçao.

Delegation History

On October 10, 2010, the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved. Of its constituent parts, Curaçao and Sint Maarten both became new countries, whereas Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba (collectively, “the BES islands”), became municipalities of the Netherlands. Before that, the ccTLD for Netherland Antilles, .an, was used

On December 15 2010, the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency instantiated three new entries in the ISO 3166-1 database: .cw (Curaçao), .sx (Sint Maarten) and .bq (BES islands).

In January 2011, the University of the Netherlands Antilles presented its initial application to ICANN for delegation of the .cw top-level domain. Subsequently, over the course of the year the application was expanded and revised. The ICANN Accountability Framework for Curaçao was signed on March 12, 2012.

Rules and Restrictions

The applicant must declare during the application process, and is responsible for ensuring, that the domain name:

• does not contain any indication or content that is misleading regarding the purpose or function of the domain name or the information offered under it;
• corresponds to a trademark, (trade) name, or product of the applicant;
• does not infringe on the rights of a third party.

Domain Name Refusal

The CW Domain Registration (CW_DomReg) reserves the right to refuse the registration of a domain name if it is apparent that:

• the domain name is reserved or excluded from registration by CW_DomReg;
• the domain name is not in the format <name>.cw;
• an identical domain name is already registered or an application for it is already being processed;
• the domain name resembles an existing one, the so-called "look-alike";
• the domain name includes a geographical designation that could cause confusion, except in the following cases:
  • names of islands of the former Netherlands Antilles or related to the name Curaçao (in any language) may only be requested by official entities authorized by the relevant government;
  • country names may only be requested by the embassy or consulate of the respective country;
• the domain name is in conflict with public order and/or good morals;
• the domain name is a generic term or a descriptive name that could cause confusion, except in cases where an extract from the Curaçao (and former Antillean) Trademark Register (BIP/BIE) is provided, showing that the applicant is entitled to use the name as a trademark;
• the domain name has no direct relation to the name of the organization or its core activities (services and/or functions).

Second-level Domains

CW_DomReg is responsible for overseeing the naming of "second-level domain names" for the country of Curaçao.

A second-level domain can only be held by an organization with an official establishment in Curaçao, such as:

• a person operating a sole proprietorship or business, or practicing a profession;
• a partnership;
• a corporation;
• another legal entity or institution.

In all cases, the organization must have its statutory seat or actual place of business in Curaçao, and the person responsible for the organization at that time must also be registered in Curaçao's population register.

Country code top-level domain