Online Brand Protection
Preventing Domain Name Abuse. Do you know whether your trademarks are being infringed on the Internet?.
Internet disputes of all type often involve unique intellectual property issues and claims, and our experience in these matters is extensive. We routinely assist clients with matters involving Internet anti-counterfeiting, copyright infringement, distribution of malware and viruses, domain name theft or hijacking, anti-spam laws and regulations, and social media disputes.
Cybersquatting and Typosquatting
Cyber squatters are everywhere, using tactics such as typosquatting, are hijacking consumers and redirecting them from legitimate domains to fraudulent sites specifically created to online fraud.
Typosquatters' primary targets are those companies that have invested the time, money and effort to build strong online brands and establish successful e-commerce operations. Combating them requires assistance from sophisticated professionals using sophisticated technology.
What Can You Do?
In relation to anti-cybersquatting laws and policies, in each of the past few years, we represented clients in more than double the number of in rem anti-cybersquatting actions under the federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) than the closest competing firm—with hundreds of domain names and websites at issue. We also represent clients in administrative domain name proceedings under ICANN’s Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) procedure, and analogous country-code and domain registry specific policies.
One way to make us safer is to use the power of your company’s trademarks to determine the common typos and homoglyphs of your marks and brands and then:
* Transfer the “squatted” domains back to your company;
* Complain of trademark infringement to Facebook or Instagram or Twitter to have the account suspended or content removed;
* Because the “squatted” term likely will not be an exact match for your trademark, complain of impersonation to Instagram or Twitter or of an impostorto Facebook to have the account suspended or content removed.
Monitoring for Malicious Registrations
There are services available to trademark holders to monitor registration activity linked to your brands. This may include the monitoring of registered and still available domain names exactly matching the brand name but also elements of brands as well as domain names made up of typos or phonetic misspellings. With Neudomain´s domain monitoring service, you’ll be able to proactively identify and remedy online infringements and infractions—which makes you look like a hero to your client. And you’ll be able to do this in less time and at a lower cost—which makes you a hero to your firm.
Among new gTLDs, one of the requirements was for new gTLDs open for public registrations to participate in a Trademark Clearinghouse that enables trademark holders to protect their rights. A brand that registers their trademarks in the TMCH will be notified when someone attempts to register a domain name that includes the brand.
Now there’s a better way to protect clients from the misuse of company and brand identities. Neudomains allows you to identify and classify potential threats before bad actors divert web traffic, steal revenue, and damage brand reputations.
Neudomains helps companies of all sizes protect their brands online, manage and defend their domains through professional Corporate Domain Management services, and employs advanced Online Brand Monitoring services to vigilantly scan the Internet to identify emerging threats.
Our team of recovery specialists work closely with clients against cybersquatters, counterfeiters, copyright infringers and other bad actors on the Internet who use your trademarks and content for their own advantage, without your permission to analyze each domain dispute situation to determine the likelihood of success. They will recommend the most appropriate method with the best possible chance of recovering the domain.
Uniform Dispute Resolution
If you find a domain name you believe is abusing your brand, there are dispute resolution procedures in place to help you get the domain name that are relatively cost-effective. They have been developed with the idea of reducing costs in recovering domain names. We handle all aspects of a UDRP case filing on your behalf and ensure there is effective communication between the UDRP Panel and your organization.
New gTLDs and Uniform Rapid Suspension System
As part of the guidelines drawn up by the ICANN community a Uniform Rapid Suspension System (URS) was developed to help trademark owners that all new gTLD operators were required to abide by and is a voluntary option for other “legacy” gTLDs such as .com and .net. The URS is a rights protection mechanism that complements the existing UDRP by offering a lower-cost, faster path to relief for rights holders experiencing the most clear-cut cases of infringement.
Protecting your brand online is an important and necessary part of doing business today. Ignoring the issue if malicious actors register domain names that seek to take advantage of your business can seriously damage your reputation, lead to loss of business, and take months, even years, to recover from.
Which Rights Protection Mechanism (RPM) is Right for Your Domain Dispute?
UDRP
- The most commonly used RPM for domain disputes.
- Over 25,000 disputes have been administered by UDPRP Poviders.
- Applicable to both Legacy TLDs and New gTLDs.
- Complaint no longer than 15 pages, with an unlimited number of annexes with an overall size limitation of 50mb.
- Available remedies are cancellation or transfer to Complainant.
- Standard of proof is preponderance of the evidence, or more likely than not.
- The proceedings can be stayed for up to 45 days while the parties attempt to settle.
- Average time from commencement to decision is 35 to 45 days.
- There are no appeal processes under the rules, but a party may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction.
For more information regarding the UDRP, please contact us.
URS
- Over 750 disputes have been administered by Forum Provider.
- URS is applicable only to New gTLDs and legacy TLDs that have chosen to implement the URS.
- Complaint is limited to 500 words and must be filed using Forum’s online portal.
- Three annexes for each domain name included in the complaint are required, evidencing proof of the trademark, screen shot of the site, and proof of use.
- Sole remedy is temporary suspension of the domain name(s).
- Standard of proof is clear and convincing evidence.
- Average time to a default determination is around 18 days.
- Further review processes are available through: (1) URS Appeal Panel; (2) by filing a UDRP complaint; or, (3) bringing an action in a court of competent jurisdiction.
For more information regarding the URS, please contact us.