The Trademark Sunrise phase (Phase one of four) for .JP.NET (Japan’s New Domain) will open January 16, 2012. This new domain is a marriage of two highly recognized domain extensions, .JP and .NET. It will enable your corporation, e-commerce platform, blog, brand, etc. to simultaneously network with Japanese and global communities. It will also make available thousands of keywords, place names, one and two-character domains and domains with Japanese characters.

Sunrise Registration Details:

Beginning January 16, 2012 (through February 17, 2012), Sunrise will open exclusively to trademark owners globally. Applicants must demonstrate ownership of a trademark that was registered prior to July 30, 2011 and is identical to the desired domain name.

There are three subsequent registration phases scheduled for non-trademark holders:

• Phase 2: Landrush (February 20, 2012 – March 16, 2012). Keywords, city names, even one and two character domains are all available. Companies without trademarks can get a .JP.NET domain name.  Applicant can be based anywhere and there are no restrictions.
• Phase 3: .JP & .NET Owner Promotion (March 19, 2012 – April 20, 2012). A special invitation for .JP and .NET registrants to obtain their matching .JP.NET domains (including official Organizational/Geographic Type .JP domains), where that Domain Name was not previously registered or applied for during Sunrise or Landrush, and/or excluded by the Registry.
• Phase 4: General Availability (April 24, 2012). No requirements. Domains are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you have any questions about the .JP.NET Sunrisephase or would like to check the availability of a .JP.NET domain name, please contact your Safenames account manager. You may also contact the Safenames UK office at +44 1908 200022 and emeasales@safenames.net, or the Safenames US office at +1.703.574.5313 and nasales@safenames.net.

While the recent reports by WIPO and FORUM highlighting the increased number of UDRP filings in 2010 are not surprising, it is interesting that such a small number of infringing domains are contested by trademark holders each year.  There are over 200 million registered domains across both generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) and country code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) with millions of infringements in the zone file across the globe.  There were, however, just 4,873 domain dispute cases filed in 2010 covering approximately 8,000 domains—that’s not even making a dent in the problem nor is it deterring the cyber criminals from continuing their practices.  It seems like much of the typo squatting and cyber squatting is being ignored.   That said, certain companies, like Verizon, Lego and Allstate, are extremely active in brand enforcement and collectively filed multiple UDRPs last year to recover hundreds of trademarked domains, while many other companies that are being hurt by cybersquatting and typosquatting take no action all.  This begs the question, why aren’t companies fighting back—to protect their marketing investments?  Is it a reluctance to play the game of “whack-a-mole”?  Is it a lack of budget? And do companies really know just how much a pay-per-click ad page hurts their revenue by diverting traffic?   Is fighting domain name piracy just not a priority? How can it not be when the result is lost revenue?

Regardless of why many companies’ strategy is to do nothing, the fact remains that taking no action is hurting both their bottom and top lines.  The legal departments and the marketing groups of a brand must work together to ensure that the equity that they have built and marketing dollars they have spent are not being hi-jacked—and are not making others wealthy.  Safenames believes that any company (large and/or small) conducting e-commerce transactions, generating new leads or just showcasing their brand(s) online simply cannot afford to ignore cybersquatters and/or online trademark infringers because these cyber criminals pose an array of threats.  At Safenames we are focused on educating our customers and the industry at large about the benefits of having a proactive domain name strategy in place for new brand launches.  And for existing brands, how an aggressive and well coordinated domain monitoring and enforcement strategy can garner a large ROI.  The risks and potential negative impact to a company’s revenue (and reputation) is just too great.  The loss may be realized through paying unnecessary online advertising fees, affiliate fraud, counterfeiting, phishing and even losing sales to competitors.  How much would an online marketing manager pay to get 5,000 or 10,000 new unique visitors a month?  How happy would an affiliate manager be to save $100,000 a year in affiliate payouts by eliminating brand poaching?  How much revenue can a company recoup by shutting down domains that are selling counterfeit goods?  A proper brand enforcement strategy that includes domain name monitoring and recovery can produce an immediate positive ROI.     

To learn more about best practices when developing an online brand enforcement strategy or to receive a free brand monitoring analysis of your brand, you can contact us at Safenames US, +1.703.574.5313 and nasales@safenames.net, or the Safenames UK at +44 1908 200022 and emeasales@safenames.net.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) just released its domain dispute filing data for 2010.  The results show that trademark holders filed 2,696 cybersquatting/typosquatting cases that included 4,370 domain names with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (WIPO Center).  The number of cases represent an increase of 28% over the 2009 level and of 16% over the previous record year for filings, 2008.  This growth trend indicates that brand owners are becoming more aware of the harmful effects caused by online trademark infringement including consumer confusion, inflated keyword budgets and lost revenue.

Since the UDRP’s launch in December 1999, the WIPO Center has received over 20,000 UDRP Cases, involving 35,000 domain names.  WIPO arbitrates domain disputes for both generic and country code Top Level Domains (gTLDs and ccTLDs).  Domain dispute cases filed with WIPO in 2010 included parties from 57 countries.

Interestingly, in 91% of cases, panels found evidence that domains were registered and being used in bad faith, thus deciding in favor of complainants.    The top five vertical markets for WIPO complainant activity were the retail, banking and finance, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, Internet and IT, and fashion sectors.  While a majority of the cases (82%) related to registrations in the .com domain extension, domain disputes over country code Top Level Domains rose to 15% of all cases in 2010.

If your business is being damaged by cybersquatters infringing on your trademarks by diverting web traffic to pay per click ads sites, committing affiliate fraud, selling counterfeit goods or redirecting domains with your brands to your competitors, please contact Safenames to discuss your legal options.  Safenames legal team has experience filing UDRPs for both gTLDs (.COM/.NET/.ORG) and most ccTLDs including CO.UK, .SE and COM.AU.

If you would like to discuss filing a UDRP or online brand enforcement strategies and online brand monitoring for your trademarks, please contact your Safenames account manager.

If you are not currently a customer, you may also contact the the Safenames US office at +1.703.574.5313 and nasales@safenames.net, or the Safenames UK office at +44 1908 200022 and emeasales@safenames.net to discuss how we can help.

Safenames the leading registrar in global domain name registrations has added three new countries to its extensive list of country codes. With the addition of .EE, .EG and .NE extensions, Safenames now has 115 direct registrar accreditations with the country code registries around the world and 19 accreditations with generic Top Level registries. Safenames provides its customers with more control over their domains because we deal directly with the authoritative companies who operate the NIC. In addition, Safenames is able to register domains faster and update DNS or WHOIS records quicker than other registrars because of our direct relationships.

Here is a short summary of the new domain extensions offered directly by Safenames.

.EE (Estonia) Domains
Safenames gained an accreditation with the Estonian NIC Authority and is able to register the following TLDs .EE, COM.EE and CO.EE directly with the Estonian NIC. .EE and CO.EE have no registration restrictions or requirements while COM.EE does require a Company Formation that can be handled by Safenames. All Estonian domains have a 1 year registration term.

.EG (Egypt) Domains
Safenames is the first and only UK registrar accredited in Egypt. Safenames can register COM.EG, NET.EG and ORG.EG domain. Safenames can now register COM.EG domains on behalf of our clients without local Egyptian contact restrictions. Safenames is able to use your existing trademark in any country to register COM.EG domains. All Egyptian domains have a 1 year registration term.

.NE (Niger)
Safenames is now one of the few registrars in the world that can register domains in the African nation of Niger. To register .NE domains, special local contact registration rules apply. Safenames can assist with meeting the Company Formation requirements to register domains in this extension. The .NE domain extension has a 1 year registration term.

For additional information regarding these domains or any of the over 700 different extensions that Safenames supports, please contact domain name consultants in Europe and Asia at +44(0).1908.200022 or in North America at +1.703.574.5313.

Earlier this week Safenames’ Domain Dispute department recovered the domain name fsecure.co.uk from a Milton Keynes organisation Global Publications Ltd by filing a domain dispute with Nominet, the registry for .UK. The Nominet case decided by Expert Margaret Briffa of BRIFFA Intellectual Property and Information Technology Lawyers; was a clear case of cyber squatting and misuse because the domain name with a well known trademark was being used for Pay per Click advertising. The arbitration expert determined that the domain name was registered in bad faith by the Respondent and also thwarted Global Publications Ltd’s assertions of Reverse Domain name Hijacking.  The domain will be transferred into the Safenames account for the F-Secure Corporation; one of the world’s leading antivirus software companies.

Safenames announced that it recently won a domain dispute for legendary poker player, Gus Hansen.  Safenames, has successfully recovered the domain name, “gushansen.com”, for the three-time World Poker Tour champion, Gus Hansen, using the Uniform domain name Resolution Dispute Policy (UDRP).   Although Hanson did not have a registered trademark on his personal name at the time of the filing, Safenames was able to demonstrate that the domain name was registered in bad faith. Safenames proved that the defendant infringed on Hansen’s common law mark, his famous personal name, because the domain was used in a manner that was publically recognizable to Mr. Hansen.

Working closely with Mr. Hansen’s representatives, the Safenames legal team filed the UDRP with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland against Yevgen Kudashov.  Safenames demonstrated that the registrant was effectively creating “confusion” with the public, profiting from and acting in bad faith in his registration of gushansen.com. And, that Mr. Kudashov went to great lengths in an attempt to fool the public into believing that he was actually Hansen by creating an email address that contained the Mr. Hansen’s nickname “Gus the Great Dane” which was used as the WHOIS administrative contact.

The WIPO Panellist found in favor of Gus Hansen, concluding that Mr. Kudashov, had no rights or legitimate interests in the domain and the name was registered and used in bad faith; ultimately ruling that the domain name should be transferred to Hansen, although the domain name was registered over five years ago by Kudashov. 

For more information about domain disputes, please contact a Safenames online brand consultants at:

http://www.safenames.net/AboutUs/ContactUs.aspx