Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

ICANN's Trademark Clearinghouse Launching Today

Posted by Unknown on from the no-domain-for-you dept.

itwbennett writes "If you want to protect your brand before ICANN rolls out the new gTLDs (generic top-level domains), here's your chance. The clearinghouse will allow trademark owners to register their marks for an annual fee of between $95 and $150. The clearinghouse 'doesn't necessarily prevent trademark infringement or cybersquatting, but it does help trademark owners and brand owners somewhat in mitigating the damage that might occur,' said Keith Kupferschmid, general counsel and vice president of IP policy and enforcement for the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA). 'We've been telling brand owners it's not that expensive to protect themselves and they ought to do it.'" All of the new TLD registrars will be required to check the trademark clearinghouse before issuing domains, preemptively squashing trademark disputes.

16 of 49 comments (clear)

  1. A not-so-subtle scam, you say? WHY!? I NEVER! by zedrdave · · Score: 4, Funny

    For an extra $100, ICANN will send you your TLD VIP package that includes instructions on how to get on the faster VIP internets and make your domain load up spontaneously on people's browser when they utter your brand's name.

    1. Re:A not-so-subtle scam, you say? WHY!? I NEVER! by mwvdlee · · Score: 3, Insightful

      To be fair, how could anything based on their own gTLD scam NOT be a scam?
      Seriously; who really needs the new gTLD's? Was it supposed to expand the number of available domain names? If so, why would this clearinghouse exist at all?

      --
      Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
    2. Re: A not-so-subtle scam, you say? WHY!? I NEVER! by Chrisq · · Score: 3, Funny

      Actually, they have to say it three times (just like Beetlejuice).

      I said "Microsoft" three times and was hit by a flying chair.

    3. Re: A not-so-subtle scam, you say? WHY!? I NEVER! by noh8rz10 · · Score: 2

      "nice brand you have here... it would be a shame if anything... happened to it."

  2. Money by PGC · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Give us your moneys to put your name on a list. Not that we will actually do something with it, but it will give you a nice and fuzzy feeling.

    --
    The Dutch will inherit the earth. If not, we'll settle for a bit of ocean. Beta delenda est!
  3. "rolls out" or "doles out", but NOT "roles out" by girlinatrainingbra · · Score: 4, Informative
    re : before ICANN roles out the new gTLDs (generic top-level domains), [emphasis mine]
    .
    You could say: before ICANN rolls out the new gTLDs

    or, you could say:

    before ICANN doles out the new gTLDs

    but srsly, you cannot say:

    before ICANN roles out the new gTLDs

    "Rolls out" and "doles out" have different implications, but they would at least make some sense. Hello, /., we need an editor on aisle 5, please send an editor to aisle 5 now, we've got a grammar spill. Bring the sawdust... ;>)

  4. That's a nice looking trademark you have there... by kinarduk · · Score: 2

    You wouldn't want it to be infringed upon would you?

  5. Who gets .apple? by magic+maverick+ · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Who gets .mcdonalds? Who gets .burgerking ("The burgers are better at Hungry Jack's")

    And I could repeat trademarks that apply in different geographical areas, and in different business areas. I sell computer services under the name Coca Cola, does that mean I can prevent a global beverage company from squatting on .cocacola?

    In other words, as previously mentioned, this whole this is a scam.

    --
    HELP MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HACKED BY AN ILLIBERAL ART STUDENT SET TO DESTROY THE INTERWEBZ!
    1. Re: Who gets .apple? by parkinglot777 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      they'll notify you when someone is going to buy a domain that uses your trademark on one of these new vanity gTLDs and you'll have the chance to contest the purchase (ie, buy it yourself) or give up all future claims.

      Yes, but you (owner of the trademark) still have to do the work. What they (ICANN) do is to watch if anyone else is going to buy similar domain to your trademark which is somewhat an extension to what they are doing. The trademark owner really has to do the work to stop/deter the purchase (owner of the intellectual property must enforce his/her own IP).

      Also even though someone else has bought a domain name with your trademark and used it to make money, you could still sue for damages (if there is any) without needing to know it in advance. One problem I am seeing is that how would one determine whether the domain name bought by someone else is violating your trademark. From the USPTO ( http://www.uspto.gov/faq/trademarks.jsp ), you may challenge those who use your trademark in the country where your trademark has been registered. If someone registered the domain name in a country where your trademark has not been registered but sells products (online) in the country your trade mark is registered, what can you do? I am not so sure you can really stop the domain name purchase this way...

      In other words, they just want free money every year with their little afford to do the work for you. Is it really worth it?

    2. Re: Who gets .apple? by martin-boundary · · Score: 2
      Sounds like a scam to me. The whole point of trademarks is to prevent others from using the mark in the course of their normal business activities without explicit authorization from the owner. By making trademarks available as gTLDs, ICANN is directly infringing on the trademark owner's rights, doubly so if they are doing so knowing that the word happens to be a trademark. So any trademark owner could sue ICANN for using their trademarks without permission.

      IANAL and all that, but I don't see how ICANN can even legally offer gTLDs that happen to be trademarks. (*)(**)

      (*) I would actually expect ICANN to pay someone to filter out all words that *are* trademarks, just to make sure that none of them could possibly be sold as gTLDs. I guess I'm not a CEO.

      (**) Perhaps the insurance scam is designed to contractually establish ICANN's right to use the trademark for their own business purposes, selling it back to the legitimate owner? Sneaky!

    3. Re: Who gets .apple? by 1u3hr · · Score: 2

      By making trademarks available as gTLDs, ICANN is directly infringing on the trademark owner's rights

      No. That logic would mean that a signwriter, say, who was asked to make a sign that infringed a trademark would be liable. ICANN can't be responsible for checking that every domain that someone orders is under some trademark or another.

      But ICANN are bloodsucking jerks who are fucking up the whole domain name system by thinking of more and more ways to make people think they need more and more domains, when any .com would do and free subdomains if you needed them. With random TLDs they're creating a system that makes it easier for scammers to create deceptive and infringing names. But that's capitalism.

  6. scam by Tom · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Seriously? This is so close to various scams that you need a microscope to spot the difference.

    Not to mention that it borders on a protection racket. "Nice trademark you have there. Would be a shame if anything happened to it..."

    ICANN needs to be replaced.

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  7. What's it for? by carou · · Score: 2

    The only use I can see for new TLD is to distinguish between different possible uses of the same name. e.g. consider how many web sites now have $(thing)-movie.com or $(thing)-band.com : if .movie and .band were TLDs, that's actually providing some benefit. But these are generic words, not trademarks. They're only useful if a registrar sells subdomains at a reasonable price, and the TLD will live or die depending on whether it can get a foothold in the market. This is a good thing.

    I just don't see a case for corporations buying their own TLD. Is there a substantial usability or branding difference between www.disney and disney.com? Everybody will just type "disney" into the address bar anyway, it will find the right site even if it has to go via google...

  8. Cheap by Turminder+Xuss · · Score: 2

    All those complaining about the cost of pre-emptive action that could prevent an infringement suit are welcome to compare it to the first billable hour of lawyers engaged in emptive action.

    --
    You seem to regard science as some kind of dodge... or hustle.
  9. Re:Extortion by paiute · · Score: 2

    I think I would rather my lawyers tell ICANN to not let someone buy a gTLD with my trademark in it.

    --
    If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
  10. Re:Extortion by Theaetetus · · Score: 2

    I think I would rather my lawyers tell ICANN to not let someone buy a gTLD with my trademark in it.

    Particularly because this system seems to be that you have a right of first refusal to buy a gTLD with your mark when someone else tries to buy one... and if you refuse to pay whatever ICANN asks, not only does the other guy get the gTLD, you waive all rights against them. In other words, this seems to waive your rights to a UDRP dispute and seizure of the domain.