A guide to registering domains for your trademarked brand

Having a trademark is a great way to legally stake a claim on a business, product, service, or phrase, but unfortunately it isn’t a guarantee that everyone will keep away from it forever. Trademark infringements still happens—knowingly or not—so it’s important to keep your defenses up.

MarkMonitor recently released an eBook that helps business owners understand how to protect their trademark through domain registrations. A copy of this guide can be requested here, and you should definitely give it a read when you have some time. But we’ve also created a quick rundown on some of the best ways you can be proactive about protecting your trademark online.

The Trademark Clearinghouse can be your best friend

As part of ICANN’s New Domain program, there are more opportunities than ever before for trademark owners to stake their claim on domains before anyone else can. Registering with the Trademark Clearinghouse is one of the best ways to stay on top of the release of New Domain names. Once you’ve registered with them, you’ll have access to the Sunrise period of New Domain releases—a time when trademark owners can secure their domain before anyone else has a chance to.

Consider a DPML block

The Donuts Inc. and Rightside registries both offer a domain blocking service. The Domain Protected Marks List (DPML) allows companies that have trademarked brands or goods to block URL strings associated with that trademark. Although there are fees associated with this service, it’s often a worthwhile investment—after all, Donuts applied for over 300 New Domains and Rightside currently has a portfolio of 39.

Keep products, events, and other variables in mind

Remember that there could be aspects of your business that are not fully protected by your trademark. For example, perhaps your company sponsors a yearly charity concert or has a semi-annual sale with a unique name. Registering domains specifically for these events is a smart move, even if it is not actively being used at this time. It’s better to hang on to the domains you may want to use in the future than risk someone else grabbing it and using it for their own purposes.

Stay on top of domain renewals

Trademarked or not, it can be a stressful experience to let one of your domains expire on accident. Make sure you sign up to receive reminder emails about renewals to an inbox you regularly check, or set your domains up to auto renew.