With the new generic top-level domains imminent, Clémence Le Cointe asks whether the Trademark Clearinghouse is a helpful tool for brand owners.
The Internet community has been following the launch of new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) since 2010 and has eagerly awaited the launch of the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH). Even if the discussions revolve around which new gTLDs applications have successfully passed the examination, protection of trademark owners against the impact of these gTLDs remains the main goal.
On the one hand, it is indisputable that the TMCH is an efficient tool for trademark owners to register domain names during the Sunrise Period. On the other, the Trademark Claims service, which enables trademark owners to receive notifications of potentially infringing identical domain registrations for a limited period of 90 days after the Sunrise Period of a new gTLD, raises a major question: does the recording of a trademark with the TMCH sufficiently guarantee that a conflicting identical or similar domain name cannot be fraudulently registered?
Registration at the TMCH
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ICANN, TMCH, gTLD, trademark, domain names
