Within the next couple of years the number of generic TopLevelDomains (gTLDs) is expected to increase in numbers at a hitherto unseen rate. The development is further expected to open for such new domains such as; .toys. family,. home,. adult,. car,. baby. banking ...
Whereas this certainly opens up for the possibility of finally being able to register www .valeaamazinglygood.lawyer or www .mostbeautifulcity.malmö it also brings the risk that a cybersquatter will register, thus forcing the legitimate trademark holder into costly processes aiming at transferring the registration of a new and relevant domain to the trademark owner. The growing trend that online-users search by way keywords rather than a full web-address, typically a business name or brand, add to the increased risk that the person searching for a website is referred to websites that in no way is connected with the company name or trademark as search.
Against this background, and not least in view of the potential problems for trademark holders, the organization responsible for administering domain names, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), has developed "Clearinghouse" ©. Holders of trademark registration can now deposit their trademarks in a database, which brings the opportunity to:
- Apply and register under the 'sunrise' period of any new gTLD, ie before the average non-trademark-holder can apply and register
- Receive notification on new domain name registrations that may potentially be seen to infringe the trademark owner's rights.
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