Protecting your Brand Online

Protecting your brand with strategies to address new generic top level domain names

John H. ReesCallister Nebeker & McCullough

© 2014, John H. Rees

Business succession and branding

What is the connection?

Value of brand

Coca Cola trademark $80.64 billion

Microsoft trademark $65.17 billion

Prepare for sale or transition

How to develop powerful brands

Exposure

Consistency (high quality)

Control and protection

Websites are an important way to build a brand

Who is not on the internet

But also a way to lose control and diminish value of a brand

Domain names control access to websites

They are addresses to content

Not unlike a street address—they provide direction and location

Second level domain name

Part of the domain name to the left of the dot (.)

Examples:cnmlaw.comutah.govccfa.orgdelta.comamazon.com

Generic top level domain names

Part of a domain name to the right of the dot (.)

Examples:.com.net.info.biz

Typically second level domain names are brands or some variation of brands

Examples

tannerco for Tannerubcutah for Utah Business Consultantscnmlaw for Callister Nebeker & McCullough

Until recently, matching a brand with a top level domain name was limited

tannerco.comtannerco.nettannerco.biztannerco.info

Possible country codes, such as .eu for European Union

Two results of limited number of top level domain names

1. Controlling internet traffic using a brand was fairly limited

2. Defensively, the number of possible misuse of a brand was limited

What are new generic top level domain names (ngTLDs)

Huge expansion of domain names to the right of the dot(.)

Pandora’s box is open for business

1930 applications for ngTLDs

428 ngTLDs have launched

1205 ngTLDs proceeding through the program

This is the first of potentially many rounds

Stats as of October 24, 2014

Examples of ngTLD that have launched

• .business• .direct• .credit• .forsale• .restaurant• .network• .lawyer

• .dentist• .market• .degree• .band• .xyz• .pizza

Geometric growth of ngTLDs

1.Ability to control internet traffic using brand is no longer limited

2. Defense strategies are much more challenging

What is happening to your brand, and how is it being used online

What are the risks to your brand

Cybersquatting, including typosquatting

Pharming, spoofing, counterfeiting, and other fraudulent activity

Loss of goodwill, including tarnishment

What’s a brand owner to do

Inventory your brands, including federal trademark registration

Classify them by value and importance to the business

Develop a strategy for managing brands given the launch of the ngTLDs

Protecting your brand with strategies to address new generic

top level domain names

John H. ReesCallister Nebeker & McCullough

© 2014, John H. Rees