Home
Domains & domain names

Work Area: Domains & domain names

EU expansion of GI protection to craft and industrial goods moves step closer, but not without opposition

The European Council's adoption of modified regulations sets up future negotiations with Parliament.

Innovation at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office: spotlight on cutting-edge tools and services

Representatives from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office exclusively reveal the agency’s innovative non-core tools and services for trademark users – and those planned for the future.

Brand names for sale: the major risk posed by Telegram’s username auction

Messaging platform Telegram has launched a username auction, a move that has already seen major brand names including Nike, Chanel, Facebook and Armani sell for tens of thousands of dollars.

Latest content

Alternative domains, DNS abuse, Ukraine scams: takeaways from ICANN 73

We present takeaways from last week's ICANN community forum, which considered elevating the organisation's focus on the rapid rise of domains outside of ICANN control.

15 March 2022

Stay of execution for ‘.xxx’ Sunrise B blocks

This latest extension of the deadline for converting ‘.xxx’ Sunrise B blocks will allow brand owners who have not already done so to retain the protection of their brands, both in the ‘.xxx’ TLD and in the other associated TLDs.

14 March 2022

WIPO begins offering new ‘.bh’ dispute resolution service

A new dispute policy offers brand owners a way to enforce their IP rights in Bahrain. This review highlights the key differences from the UDRP

10 March 2022

ICANN opens UDRP review public comment, as data reveals usage trends

ICANN has opened public comment proceedings to gather input on the UDRP and data contained in its UDPR Policy Status Report. The report provides insight into UDRP trends and highlights some of the issues that brand owners should seek to engage on.

07 March 2022

Government MDAs ordered to migrate to Nigeria’s second-level domain

Under a recently approved policy, federal government ministries, departments and agencies must migrate their websites and official email addresses from generic extensions to Nigeria’s second-level domain.

03 March 2022

UDRP complaint loses its mojo

In a case that sits at the intersection between the UDRP and national trademark law, the owner of several registered trademarks containing the term ‘mojo’, including MOJOCLOUD, has failed to obtain the transfer of ‘cloud-mojo.com’, among others.

01 March 2022

Raincheck on the recuperation of ‘cloudfm.com’

The case highlights that experienced panels will take the time to thoroughly examine and reflect on both parties' contentions, rather than simply taking assertions at face value.

23 February 2022

European Commission report gives ‘.eu’ a clean bill of health

Negative growth in 2019, which resulted from the saturation and consolidation of the domain name market, as well as the impact of Brexit, was offset by positive growth subsequent to the rise in demand for domain names during the covid-19 pandemic.

17 February 2022

“The most significant genericism issue of our time” – use of Google brand proves legal rethink needed, study argues

New study analyses trademarks that it dubs ‘super-generic’, claiming that marks granted to search firms could be damaging to consumers.

16 February 2022

A record nobody wants: UDRP actions continue upward march

New data from WIPO has revealed a record level of UDRP work in 2021. Few brand protection professionals will welcome the increase, which has significant budget implications, argues this week’s opinion.

12 February 2022

Unlock unlimited access to all WTR content