81% of new brand domain hopefuls to build their own online empires, finds World Trademark Review survey

LONDON, UK October 28, 2010

Global brands are planning to establish their own branded internet spaces in a major expansion of the online world, reveals new survey data.

Research conducted by World Trademark Review (WTR) magazine has found that of those brands planning to apply to run a new generic top-level domain (gTLD), 81% favour a '.brand' string, echoing Canon's announced intention to launch '.canon'. Under plans to expand the domain space beyond the existing 21 gTLDs, such as '.com' and '.net', any party would be able to apply to run a registry for almost any string of characters.

Many trademark owners predict brand abuse under the expansion and have therefore played a key role both in developing new gTLD policy and in working with corporate clients on their brand strategies. WTR's survey of in-house trademark counsel, attorneys in law firms and marketing professionals found that an average of 54% responded "Yes", "It's likely" or "Maybe" when asked whether their company/client would apply for a new gTLD. Of these, 81% confirmed, like Canon, that the string would be their master brand.

"Uncovering such a significant figure is a great surprise," said Adam Smith, the WTR reporter who designed the survey to reveal how industry is strategising around the new gTLD programme. "It is especially fascinating given industry's reticence on the topic. Although I have spoken to many corporate figures over the years I have been covering the issue of new gTLDs, none have said anything about their intentions for when the new gTLD programme goes live. But now we know that a great many corporations want their own branded internet empire."

Despite claims that marketers around the world support the change, WTR found that only 57% consider new gTLDs a 'valuable opportunity'. Of those who raised concerns, 76% thought that new gTLDs would be "confusing to consumers". This will add fire to the oppositions raised against the new programme by trademark lawyers, who remain sceptical. When asked by WTR whether the proposed trademark protection mechanisms are strong enough to prevent trademark infringement under new gTLDs, 72% said "No". A further 19% said only "Maybe".

"Trademark protection has been one of the most controversial issues of the new gTLD programme," said Trevor Little, editor of WTR. "Through our publication and industry associations, trademark owners have called for stronger rights protection mechanisms. The trademark community proposed a tapestry of measures and threads of this are now included in the policy. But as WTR's research shows, trademark owners' fears are still not allayed."

The full survey results, which reveal corporate strategies, are now published in the December/January issue of WTR magazine. The in-depth feature article includes interviews with Microsoft, Lego and Verizon and the opinions of key thought leaders from the domain name industry.

ENDS


-- CONTACT --
Trevor Little, editor, World Trademark Review
tlittle@worldtrademarkreview.com
+44 20 7234 0606

Adam Smith, reporter, World Trademark Review
asmith@worldtrademarkreview.com
+44 20 7234 0606

--NOTES FOR EDITORS--

Survey methodology
The link to an open internet survey was sent to trademark professionals through WTR, the International Trademark Association, European trademark owner association MARQUES, the European Communities Trademark Association, European brands association AIM and trademark service providers Dennemeyer, NetNames, MelbourneIT, Com Laude, CSC and CT Corsearch. It was sent to marketing professionals through the Bowen Craggs web effectiveness network, the European Marketing Confederation of many European associations, the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organisation and the CMO Council. The survey was promoted on several blogs and websites. Respondents were first asked to self-identify as in-house trademark counsel, trademark counsel in private practice or marketing professionals (eg, including web directors, communications managers), and then asked a tailored set of questions. Respondent numbers: 74 in-house counsel, 228 private practitioners and 46 marketing professionals.

About World Trademark Review
WTR is the world's only independent multimedia publication dedicated to reporting on trademark issues for trademark lawyers internationally. The WTR platform includes a subscription magazine, regular outbound supplements and the unique WTR Daily email newsletter, which includes a free and often controversial trademark news blog and legal updates written by a panel of experts in key jurisdictions.
More information at http://www.worldtrademarkreview.com.