A Good Plan Today
May 23, 2014
By jbourne
“A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow,” General George S. Patton famously said. At FairWinds Partners, we agree wholeheartedly, especially when it comes to new top-level domains.
New top-level domains – the text to the right of the dot in a web address – are joining the more traditional .COM, .ORG, .BIZ at a quickening pace, opening up vast new tracts of Internet territory in which companies can promote their products and services and in which they should protect against trademark infringements.
Over 100 new extensions, such as .GURU, .BERLIN, and .CLUB, and close to 800,000 websites anchored to them, are already in use or well on their way.
But, as with any new development, the unscrupulous of the world will try to exploit an expanded Internet for their personal gain. We’re already seeing signs of this in the new top-level domain space.
Some of our clients are receiving emails warning that someone else is seeking to register the client’s company name in a new top-level domain. If the client doesn’t register its name by a certain date, the person sending the email threatens to allow the imposter to proceed. We’ve seen similar scare tactics on Facebook where ads warn that your brand could fall into the wrong hands.
Other clients are bombarded with invitations to register indiscriminately in random top-level domains, whether or not the top-level domain is relevant to their business model. And many companies have been advertising reserved registrations in future top-level domains, even though registrations occur strictly on a first come first served basis.
Don’t be fooled. Avoid last-minute decision-making and take the time to consider what’s right for your company. Implement a proactive, forward-looking new top-level domain registration strategy tailor-made to meet your business goals.
Any business with trademarks, copyrights, or intellectual property has an interest in defending them in cyberspace. Contact us for more information on how we can set you on the right course.
