Intellectual Property Law

Applying For 'Dot Brand' TLDs

By Marty Schwimmer

Most of you are familiar with ICANN's new gTLD process. Many trademark owners are contemplating applying for top level domains reflecting their brands ("Dot Brands").

Operating a gTLD registry will require expertise as well as an infrastructure that meets ICANN?s standards. Importantly, ICANN is evaluating its policy of registry-registrar separation. This could mean that if you apply for and receive .YOURBRAND, you may own and control the registry that manages the TLD, but you may have to use non-owned and controlled entities to be the registrar(s) that allocate the .YOURBRAND domain names, even if those names are for internal use only and no names are allocated to the public.

To assist brand-owners in meeting these and other requirements, I will be providing legal consulting services in conjunction with Com Laude and its sister company Valideus, which will be providing business and technical consulting services (brochure reproduced below). Com Laude, an accredited registrar specializing in managing domain name portfolios for large brand owners, has developed a "white label" registrar and registry solution for applicants for Dot Brands.

We will be advising on ?Dot Brand? applications to ICANN (as well as on brand-protection issues arising from the new gTLDs, applicable to any trademark owner).

I will be attending th INTA Annual Meeting in Boston, as will the principals of Com Laude and Valideus, Nick Wood and Lorna Gradden. If your company is exploring filing for a Dot Brand TLD, please contact me.

Valideus Leaflet NEW

Full post as published by Trademark Blog on May 20, 2010 (boomark / email).