Preparation for new gTLDs

What Do We Do Now that the World Didn’t End in 2012? | McDermott Will & Emery - JDSupra:" . . . In light of the new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) that are scheduled to launch in the latter half of 2013, companies should now review their global trademark portfolios for marks they want to protect. The new gTLDs will allow companies to have “.brand” extensions (e.g., .yahoo, .nike) and allow the creation of new domain name registries with extensions containing generic words and locations (e.g.,TheFrenchLaundry.restaurant, BuddhaBar.paris). With the launch of almost 1,400 new gTLDs, the World Wide Web is poised to explode with new marketing opportunities and, it can be assumed, opportunistic cyber squatters and domain name thieves. Now is an ideal time to conduct an audit of your company’s global trademark portfolio and decide which trademarks, if any, need to be defensively registered with the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) in order to be protected against potential misappropriation.The TMCH is a centralized depository of information that will function as an authentication/validation mechanism for protecting registered, court-validated and statute- or treaty-protected trademarks as the new gTLDs roll out. Registering trademarks with the TMCH will provide trademark owners (1) access to the Sunrise Period, i.e., the priority domain name registration period before registration opens to the general public; (2) Claims Notices, which will alert trademark owners when a new gTLD is registered that matches their exact trademark; and (3) access to the Uniform Rapid Suspension system and other dispute mechanisms for taking action against abusive and infringing domain names registered by third parties. . . ." read  more at link above


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