Real-name verification. Where domain name services are provided within China, the registration information must be true, accurate and complete. A domain that has not completed real-name verification may have its resolution suspended.
ICP recordal. Where the website's server is located in China, recordal must be completed before the site can be accessed. A commercial internet information service also requires the corresponding license. Without recordal the domain will not resolve, which is one of the most common obstacles foreign companies meet when launching in China — and the recordal can only be made by an entity established in China.
Consistency between the domain and the operating entity. The recordal information, the registrant of the domain, and the entity actually operating the site should match. A mismatch can hold up the recordal, and it produces arguments later about enforcement and about who is liable.
Plan the domain registration, the real-name verification, the recordal entity and the trademark filings together at the start of the project, rather than ending up with the trademark held by one company, the domain by another and the recordal by a third.
