On January 8, 2015, ".SHANGBIAO" (dot trademark in Chinese) Domain Registry received a formal approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which allows ".SHANGBIAO" Domain Registry to operate the ".SHANGBIAO" top level domain in Chinese territory. According to China's relevant Internet domain name rules, obtaining a formal approval to operate ".SHANGBIAO" top level domain marked the incorporation of that TLD into China's domain name system. This means that website operators in Chinese territory that use a ".SHANGBIAO" domain name may apply to the competent authorities for the registration of their websites.

According to sources, ".SHANGBIAO" Domain Registry is currently among only a few domain registries that have received a formal administrative approval from MIIT to date. According to China's Internet domain name administration policy, any top level domain that has not obtained the approval of the competent authority may not be registered or used in Chinese territory.

The ".SHANGBIAO" domain is the only top level domain in the world to use Chinese "trademark" as a suffix in a domain name, providing holders of trademarks around the world the ability to register, protect, express, popularize, and make public their rights to their trademarks on the Internet domain name resolution front. By using Chinese "trademark" as a suffix, the ".SHANGBIAO" domain name clearly identifies itself as the name of a trademark, just like the ® trademark sign added to any trademark that turns up on the Internet address bar; as a result, the ".SHANGBIAO" domain name is deemed an authoritative online vehicle for intellectual property that runs parallel to domain name rights and trademark rights. ".SHANGBIAO" is widely viewed as an authoritative, reliable and safe top level domain because it complies with the various requirements set forth by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), as well as the various standards any top level domain has to meet.

 
The registration rule of “.SHANGBIAO” requires that the registration and use of “.SHANGBIAO” domain names must be fully equivalent to the trademark rights. The Domain Registry has set up strict review mechanism and works with registrars to verify the authenticity of every trademark rights, and also verify the real names of the registrants of each domain name, which can ensure that every “.SHANGBIAO” domain name can correspond to an offline real trademark right, so as to set up a corresponding relationship between the registered name of “.SHANGBIAO” domain name and the trademark content of the real offline trademark holder, which can greatly highlight the authenticity and authoritativeness of ".SHANGBIAO" domain names.

Starting from January 8, 2015, the Registry will begin to receive registration applications from around the world. The reporter has learned from the ".SHANGBIAO" Domain Registry that a lot of trademarks exist that are identical with other trademarks due to restrictions on the use of an offline trademark registered in one country in another country and the fact that a domain name may fall into one of 45 categories based on how and within what scope the trademark may be used.

Because the Domain Registry sticks to a first-come, first-served principle and its operation is not restricted by an offline trademark's attributes, like its region, its nationality, and the category it falls into among the 45 categories, any registration applicant who has successfully registered a domain name with the Domain Registry will become the sole holder of that domain name and will hold exclusive rights to that ".SHANGBIAO" domain name under the protection of laws. As a result, many famous brands and trademarks submitted their applications for registration of a ".SHANGBIAO" domain name the same day. It is obvious that many brand-conscious businesses highly value the unique ability of ".SHANGBIAO" to popularize and protect their trademarks, and that they firmly believe that a ".SHANGBIAO" domain name may help them prove the authenticity and credibility of the information they provide online, thereby improving the consumer's trust in and recognition of their trademark and so enjoying a greater chance of success online. For this reason, many trademark holders have registered ".SHANGBIAO" domains with their trademarks It is clear that ".SHANGBIAO" has achieved widespread recognition among the large number of businesses, which indicates that many of them eagerly want to have the opportunity to make their trademark known online and that businesses attach importance to protecting their intellectual property and to the unique, irreplaceable commercial value of ".SHANGBIAO".