Trademark Clearinghouse: meet the agents
The Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) was set up as one of the main rights protection mechanisms (RPMs) for the new generic top-level domain (gTLD) programme. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) published applications from the first round in 2012.
With the centralised TMCH, which launched in 2013, brands have been able to submit their trademarks for validation and then access multiple sunrise periods without having to have individual gTLD registries validate their rights.
The TMCH also allows brands to receive notifications about anyone intending to register (and then registering) domains matching their marks. Since 2018, trademark owners have had an extra tool: the Trademark Registry Exchange (TREx).
As a further part of the brand protection puzzle, the Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) System offers a streamlined tool for resolving domain name disputes.
WIPR caught up with three trademark agents, which are entities that submit trademark rights to the TMCH on behalf of rights owners, to find out more about the brand protection landscape.
IP Twins: Sylvain Hirsch
Sylvain Hirsch, president of online brand protection company IP Twins, says there have been three major impacts of the new gTLD programme on clients, the first being a supplementary burden in the form of more registrations and time to dedicate to “an issue often seen as marginal and not profitable enough”, mostly by law firms.
He adds that the programme is seen by some corporations as an interesting innovation but one which is “used by others”, and also as a powerful new communication tool.
