. app . . the web. email. . music . and . film. These are some of the approximately 1,000 new domains ready to appear on the web market and revolutionize the digital universe in the next weeks.
What will be the consequences of this sudden proliferation of domain names available?
The new extensions will create unprecedented opportunities but at the same time it will cause many problems for a trademark owners. In fact with the proliferation of available extensions it automatically increases the risk of cybersquatting .
In 2013 there were over 200 cases of disputes per month against individuals who had illegally registered domains corresponding to famous trademarks, many of which have involved countries traditionally considered less at risk than others , such as the United Kingdom, France and Spain.
In order to protect trademark holders ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Domain Names and Numbers ), the association that manages the domains in the world, activated a service called Trademark Clearinghouse ( TMCH ) that helps to protect brands from abuse.
Thanks to TMCH you can insert your own brand in a world-wide database and obtain a double benefit :
1 ) you will automatically get the right to register the corresponding domain before anyone else. . The launch of each new domain will be preceded by a pre-registration period (called Sunrise) in which preference will be given to holders of trademarks registered in the Trademark Clearinghouse. It is important to remember that if the recording will not take place at this time , the domain will be free to be registered by anyone during all the following stages of release.
2 ) you will be notified in case someone asks you to register a domain name that ingringes your brand and you will then have the opportunity to oppose and prevent any damage to your business. .
For these reasons, it is very important to adhere to the service of Trademark Clearinghouse as soon as possible .
To stay informed you can follow our free Webinars in this matter. To know when the next will take place visit the Register.it website .
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