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425 New Top Level Domains Now Operational
Jonathan Cohen attended the ICANN 52 meeting in Singapore last month, where more than 425 new top level domains (TLDs) have been delegated by ICANN and many are now operational.
It remains to be seen how many will survive the next 18 months and how many will prove to be unsuccessful.
Many new gTLDs are “internationalized” domain names (IDNs), meaning they are in a non-Latin alphabet format (e.g., Arabic, Russian, Chinese).
These IDNs are particularly challenging for trademark owners as monitoring them for possible problems (infringement etc.) is very difficult without assistance.
A number of new and sophisticated search applications to ‘’watch’’ domains in all TLDs potentially confusing with a specific trademark are now being offered in response to this need.
Debate about restricting new TLDs to exclude geographical names rages on. Many governments, notably Russia and some others in the EU, are still actively campaigning to move stewardship of the domain name system (DNS) out of private hands (ICANN) and to the ITU or some other UN-controlled body where world governments — and not the communities actually using the internet — will control policy and operations of the internet. This is a serious challenge to the independence and openness of the DNS as it has developed over the last 17 years in the multi-stakeholder model.
We urge you to better inform yourself and to speak out through participation in the ICANN process or otherwise.
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New anti-counterfeiting measures in Canada
Canada has long been criticized for its policies regarding combating counterfeit goods, and especially regarding the border enforcement of intellectual property. The recent proclamation into force of certain provisions of the Combating Counterfeit Products Act (CCPA) on January 1, 2015, however, gives trademark and copyright owners a relatively straightforward mechanism for combating infringement at the border.
The provisions provide a new tool for assisting in the enforcement of brand owners’ valuable rights—a tool that was notably absent before. It remains to be seen, however, how the provisions will be implemented by the CBSA. Read more.
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Please note: scam
You should be aware that the Trademarks Office does not charge a government fee for the advertisement or the publication of a trademark application. If you receive a request for payment of such a fee please be careful to check before paying as it is likely a fraudulent request.
There are a number of deceptive domain name practices including attempts to get a domain name holder to change registrars or to register domains to defend against potential cyber-squatting. Please check such requests very carefully or contact us for advice.
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Trademark Clearinghouse Registration
If you have not already considered registering your principal marks in the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) and looked into finding a search service to monitor them for confusing domain names as they come online, you should do so promptly. If you need assistance with this please contact us as we have considerable experience in the field.
For more information on the many benefits of the TMCH, please contact us.
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