Rules of the .cat domain

The .cat is a generic top-level domain and is not defined in territorial terms. Its policy framework has been developed by Accent Obert (Fundació puntCAT) under the Registry Agreement with ICANN. This Registry Agreement includes, in its Specification 12, the specific elements of the .cat domain as a community-based domain representing the Catalan linguistic and cultural community on the Internet.

1. Registration Policy

To register a .cat domain name, you must sign (or, more commonly, accept through an online form) an agreement with the authorized registrar of your choice. This agreement will include the commercial terms, including the price set by the registrar, as well as a separate agreement, often incorporated as an annex, the .cat Registration Policy, which is the one that binds you to the Registry.

Here you can consult our Registration Policy which, when registering a .cat domain, you must accept and which will bind you to the Registry.

English version: Registration Policy
Catalan version: Normativa de Registre
Spanish version: Normativa de Registro

Acceptable use and compliance policy
When registering a .cat domain name, you must, as part of the process, make a declaration of intent regarding the use of the domain name you are registering. This declaration does not need to be very detailed, but it must be truthful. If you fail to comply with your declared intended use, Accent Obert may request explanations and may even deactivate your domain (i.e., keep it registered in your name but without it being operational for web services, email, etc.).
Likewise, Accent Obert may deactivate the domain if it is used in ways contrary to acceptable use (for example, for sending spam or if the domain is registered for speculative purposes).

Specific policy for defensive registrations
These types of registrations are intended to protect trademarks from any registry or jurisdiction, particularly those whose holders do not meet the eligibility requirements and therefore cannot register a .cat domain name. If they wish to prevent a third party from using a domain name equivalent to their trademarks, they may request a defensive registration, which blocks the possibility of someone else obtaining the domain name but does not allow its use by the holder (as they do not meet the eligibility requirements).
If a trademark holder meets the requirements to obtain the domain name (for example, because a significant part of the communications on their website is in Catalan), they will normally prefer a standard registration (for example, during Phase II of the launch period) rather than a defensive one, as defensive registrations are significantly more expensive and do not allow any use of the name (neither for web nor email services).

2. Dispute resolution procedures

What can you do if you believe that a .cat domain name has not been registered in accordance with the domain’s policies? What if you believe that a domain name infringes your rights, for example trademark rights? Or if you believe that the specific use of the domain harms your interests in some way?
In addition to contacting us to address the circumstances of the specific case, you also have access to the dispute resolution mechanisms provided by ICANN for generic top-level domains.

UDRP and URS
Like all generic top-level domains, .cat is subject to both the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS), approved by ICANN. When registering a .cat domain through any registrar, you must necessarily accept these policies, which are incorporated into the registration agreement as consensus policies applicable to all gTLDs.