Pre-registrations for .BID, .TRADE and .WEBCAM

No trademark, no worries!

In the online world, brand owners are used to protecting their core brands by registering matching domain names during the Sunrise phase of a registry launch. In order to do so, brand owners are obliged to possess a Trademark of national effect, matching the domain name for which they are applying.

However, while it is not unusual for brand owners to trademark their core brand, the majority do not, by default, protect their secondary or product brands by formal Trademarks relying rather on usage to achieve a similar effect. This means that, brand owners which do not possess a formal Trademark are unable to register a domain name matching their product brands in the Sunrise period.

In order to assist you to secure the domain names you need Lexsynergy is taking pre-registrations for the .BID, .TRADE and .WEBCAM Top Level Domains. 

Pre-registration is done on a first-come-first-served basis and if a pre-registration is successful, only a domain name applied for by a valid trademark owner in Sunrise will take priority. 

Pre-registration greatly increases your chances of registering the domain name of your choice allowing you to maximise the value of your online presence.

Email brandprotection@lexsynergy.com should you require assistance or advice on how to protect your trade mark within this new gTLD and others.

.HR opens up to EU companies

Last year Croatia became the 28th member state of the European Union (EU).

Its membership to the EU has resulted in the Croatian domain name registry easing its restrictions on .hr registrations. 

EU companies can now register up to 10 .hr domain names. 

Each company will be required to submit its company number when registering a .hr domain name, which will be checked by the registry.

Register your .hr domain name at www.lexsynergy.com.

Got the .com, Get the .co.com

.co.com has been launched to provide an alternative for those who lost out on securing a .com domain name. 

While this new extension provides opportunities, it also creates risks for trade mark owners. It creates a new avenue for squatters to register domain names that match your .com.

It is advisable for trade mark owners to take a proactive stance and protect their trade mark by participating in the Sunrise period.

Registrations for all 3 phases below are accepted on a first come, first served basis. 

Sunrise

Eligibility
SMD file issued by the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) is required.
If you have not verified your trademark with the TMCH we can submit it on your behalf. Read more about the TMCH and pricing here.

Starts: 24 February 2014
Ends: 25 March 2014 (23:59 GMT)

Landrush

Starts: 8 April 2014 (16:00 GMT)
Ends: 8 July 2014 (15:59 GMT)

General Availability

Starts: 8 July 2014 (16:00 GMT)

Costs

The cost for a registering a domain name is the same for all 3 phases.
See the cost per currency below

£29 per year
$49 per year
€34 per year
R551 per year

Email brandprotection@lexsynergy.com should you require assistance or advice on how to protect your trade mark within this TLD and others.

.Wien the new domain name extension for Vienna

Vienna or Wien (German), the capital city, state and commercial centre of Austria, is well-known for its Opera, musicians, philosophers and now for being one of the first cities to launch its own Top Level Domain (TLD).

.wien  provides Viennese and those that conduct business in the city or state with an opportunity to establish a unique localised online presence.

The emphasis is on local so all .wien domain names must have a local address in Vienna. Lexsynergy offers a local presence for those outside of Vienna.

The Sunrise started on 11 February 2014 and ends on 30 April 2014. More launch information can be found on our .wien page at http://www.lexsynergy.com/wien.

The Sunrise fees are on the high side (as set by the registry) but this should not be a deterrent for trade marks owners with rights in Vienna, Austria or the EU.

If you do not have a validated trade mark you can still submit a Sunrise application based on one of the following:

• registered Austrian trademark
• community trade mark
• international trademark extended to Austria
• geographical indications or designations of origin
• non-registered trademark with a secondary meaning
• the Business Name (Section 17 of the Austrian Business Code [UGB])
• the specific name of a business within the scope of application of Section 9 of the Austrian Federal Statute against Unfair Trade Practices [UWG]
• names or pseudonyms/aliases (Section 43 of the Austrian General Civil Code [ABGB])
• titles that are protected pursuant to Section 80 of the Austrian Copyright Act [UrhG] or Section 9 UWG.
• names of monuments, churches, etc. 

A trade mark validated with the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) will have priority over non-validated rights.

Register your .wien domain at www.lexsynergy.com.

As a TMCH Agent you can submit your trade mark to us for validation with the TMCH.

Email brandprotection@lexsynergy.com should you require assistance or advice on how to protect your trade mark within this new gTLD and others.

Unleash your inner .NINJA

From secretive 14th century Japanese super-assassins to the coolest beings on the planet, the ninja has ducked and dived through the past 700 years. The myth grew through popular literature over the years, and these enigmatic agents abandoned stealth mode and hit the big screen in a big way in the late sixties, alongside Bond, and the small screen with Bruce Lee and the Green Hornet. They have been a mainstay of Hollywood ever since, most recently re-imagined as The Dark Knight.

Back in the 60s, popular culture began to embrace the mystical East, and ninja skills comfortably combined macho with philosopher in one mysterious package. Roll-on half a century, and the frontier Internet became the new battleground, designed, controlled and lorded over by ‘The Geeks’. The Noughties also saw the explosion of comic culture, with franchise after franchise not only hitting the big screen but also hitting the spot with mass audiences. 

Soon, to be a geek, a coder, a dot com millionaire was to be cool. And the greatest of the geeks came to identify – through that comic culture - with the intuitive skills, training, dedication, and single-mindedness of the ninja. Today, to be a ninja is to be the quickest and the best, but with a twist of humor, a sliver of self-deprecation, and a deep appreciation of ones own skills.

It is into this modern arena .NINJA steps. Poised to be the badge of honor for this and future generations of ubergeeks, redefining themselves as masters of their art, codewarriors, perfectionists, adrenaline junkies, the brightest and boldest. With the skills and determination to see it, whatever it might be, through to the finish.

The Sunrise for .NINJA started on 19 February 2014 and ends on 21 April 2014.

The Sunrise is the priority period reserved fro trade marks owners to secure domain names matching their trade marks.

Read more about the new gTLD .NINJA at http://www.lexsynergy.com/ninja.

Register your .ninja domain at www.lexsynergy.com.

Email brandprotection@lexsynergy.com should you require assistance or advice on how to protect your trade mark within this new gTLD and others.

.CEO - The TLD for BIGWIGS

Around the 17th Century wigs were worn by Europe's elite. Some of the wigs, during that time, were so ostentatious and absurd that they required scaffolding to be held in place.

And so the term "bigwig" became synonymous with wealth, power and success.

If wigs are not your thing then you may be interested in an online alternative. 

A .CEO domain name.

This new generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) conveys power and authority targeting brand and business leaders, founders and entrepreneurs. 

.CEO will popularize professional identities.

Be a "bigwig and register your .CEO domain name at www.lexsynergy.com.

The Sunrise (trade mark priority period) started on 10 February 2014 and ends on 10 March 2014. Visit http://www.lexsynergy.com/ceo for more information.

Watch the .CEO promotional video here.

Email brandprotection@lexsynergy.com should you require assistance or advice on how to protect your trade mark within this new gTLD and others.

Domain Protected Marks List (DPML) Introduced for Rightside TLDs

The DPML was initially introduced by the TLD operator Donuts, covering over 200 TLDs. 

The DPML blocks a domain name matching a verified trade mark or term across all Donuts' TLDs. We blogged about this service towards the end of last year, read the blog post here.

The service has now also been introduced by Rightside, the operator of the following TLDs:

• democrat
• dance
• immobilien
• ninja
• futbol
• reviews
• consulting
• social 
• rocks
• pub
• moda
• actor
• kaufen
• haus

An annual fee of £230 or $391 will block your mark in the above TLDs.

The cost of blocking your mark is cheaper than registering your domain name during the Sunrise and Landrush phases of each TLD.

You must have a validated trade mark with the TMCH in order to submit a DPML block. 

Contact us to validate your trade mark and submit your block.

Lexsynergy is an ICANN accredited registrar and TMCH Agent.

brandprotection@lexsynergy.com
+44 20 8133 1319 (UK)
+1 617 418 3502 (US)

How to go about protecting your trade mark within the new gTLDs in three videos

new gTLD = new generic Top Level Domain such as .london, .company & .guru.

Step1 

Validate your trade mark via a Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) Agent such as Lexsynergy. 

TMCH video

Step 2

Block your mark in over 200 TLDs in one go.

DPML video

Step 3

Participate in the Sunrise (priority period for owners of validated trade marks), Landrush (open to all but domains sold at a higher cost) and General Availability (open to all at standard pricing) phases.

new gTLD video

Contact our brand protection team for more information.

brandprotection@lexsynergy.com