Imagine the website www.YourCompanyName.sucks in the wrong hands. With new
generic top-level domain (gTLD) .sucks being rolled out soon, companies are
advised to ensure their trade marks are adequately protected.
Donvay Wegierski, trade mark specialist at Werksmans Attorneys, said .sucks,
which is aimed at creating online space for consumers to share opinions
about businesses and brands, creates risks for businesses beyond giving
unhappy customers a space to share negative opinions.
Another danger comes from cyber-squatters, a term that describes
opportunists who register domain names in bad faith. Cyber-squatters can
include competitors, extortionists and opportunists who use misappropriated
domains to point to other websites containing illegal or inappropriate
content.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which oversees the
internet domain naming system, creates new gTLDs to increase competition and
choice in the domain name space. Adding to the .coms and .nets and .co.zas,
'real estate' with the suffixes .bank and .sucks will soon start appearing
on the internet.
The rollout of .bank domains should comfort banks and clients because only
banking institutions can apply to register a .bank domain, which will also
signify improved security features. Less so the controversial .sucks domains
especially after the sunrise period, a priority period for trademark owners,
ends on Sunday (June 21). After that anyone can register a .sucks domain
name for a small fee, providing fertile ground for opportunists.
After the sunrise period, domain names, even those incorporating registered
trade marks, are available on a first come, first served basis. A trade mark
owner wanting to claim a domain that had already been registered by someone
else would have to file a formal complaint, which can be costly.
Cyber-squatters register domains they have no connection with in the hope
that they will be able to sell them later. "It is not unusual for domain
name squatters to offer to sell the domain to the rightful owner for an
amount that is less than a costly dispute," says Wegierski.
Over 1300 gTLD's are being introduced. It can be daunting and expensive for
businesses to register each new gTLD introduced. Therefore, says Wegierski,
business are advised to ensure that their trade marks are adequately
protected, remembering also that trade mark registration is both territory
and class specific.
Each of the new gTLDs will have a sunrise period during which trade mark
owners with prior verification from the Trade Mark Clearing House, are given
priority in registering domain names. And should an unauthorised third party
register a domain name a business is much better equipped to assert its
proprietary rights if its trade mark is protected.
my motto is "Keep it simple" and "don't leave anything for tomorrow that can
be done today."
Regards Gerald Crawford
Stellenbosch South Africa
E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws
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generic top-level domain (gTLD) .sucks being rolled out soon, companies are
advised to ensure their trade marks are adequately protected.
Donvay Wegierski, trade mark specialist at Werksmans Attorneys, said .sucks,
which is aimed at creating online space for consumers to share opinions
about businesses and brands, creates risks for businesses beyond giving
unhappy customers a space to share negative opinions.
Another danger comes from cyber-squatters, a term that describes
opportunists who register domain names in bad faith. Cyber-squatters can
include competitors, extortionists and opportunists who use misappropriated
domains to point to other websites containing illegal or inappropriate
content.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which oversees the
internet domain naming system, creates new gTLDs to increase competition and
choice in the domain name space. Adding to the .coms and .nets and .co.zas,
'real estate' with the suffixes .bank and .sucks will soon start appearing
on the internet.
The rollout of .bank domains should comfort banks and clients because only
banking institutions can apply to register a .bank domain, which will also
signify improved security features. Less so the controversial .sucks domains
especially after the sunrise period, a priority period for trademark owners,
ends on Sunday (June 21). After that anyone can register a .sucks domain
name for a small fee, providing fertile ground for opportunists.
After the sunrise period, domain names, even those incorporating registered
trade marks, are available on a first come, first served basis. A trade mark
owner wanting to claim a domain that had already been registered by someone
else would have to file a formal complaint, which can be costly.
Cyber-squatters register domains they have no connection with in the hope
that they will be able to sell them later. "It is not unusual for domain
name squatters to offer to sell the domain to the rightful owner for an
amount that is less than a costly dispute," says Wegierski.
Over 1300 gTLD's are being introduced. It can be daunting and expensive for
businesses to register each new gTLD introduced. Therefore, says Wegierski,
business are advised to ensure that their trade marks are adequately
protected, remembering also that trade mark registration is both territory
and class specific.
Each of the new gTLDs will have a sunrise period during which trade mark
owners with prior verification from the Trade Mark Clearing House, are given
priority in registering domain names. And should an unauthorised third party
register a domain name a business is much better equipped to assert its
proprietary rights if its trade mark is protected.
my motto is "Keep it simple" and "don't leave anything for tomorrow that can
be done today."
Regards Gerald Crawford
Stellenbosch South Africa
E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
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