Trademark warning when registering a domain: what should you do with it?
If you register a name under one of the newer extensions, such as .shop, .app or .online, you may first receive a trademark warning (also known as a claim notification or claims notice). This means someone has registered the name as a trademark. In this article you'll read how that works and what to do about it.
Where does the warning come from?
Trademark holders can record their trademark in the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH), a central database for the new extensions introduced by ICANN. ICANN requires registrars to check every registration under one of these new extensions against that database. This applies at least during the first 90 days after the extension opened to everyone, and sometimes longer.
If the name matches a recorded trademark, you first need to be informed that the trademark exists. Only after you've read and confirmed the warning can the name be registered.
You won't get this warning for .nl, .be, .de, .eu, .com and most country extensions. This scheme doesn't apply to them.
How it works
- You order the name.
- If a trademark is recorded for it, you'll receive an email with a link to claimnotification.info. There you'll find the trademark warnings for that name.
- Read the warning and choose: continue or cancel. Don't wait too long: a confirmation is only valid for a short time.
- If you continue, the name will be registered. The trademark holder is then notified that the name has been registered, so they can take action if they want to.
What does the warning mean for you?
A trademark warning isn't a ban. Often several companies have the same word in their name, and a trademark usually only applies to certain products or services. But you now know there's a trademark holder, and they'll soon know that you have the name. If you use the name for the same kind of products or services as the trademark, or if it looks like you're connected to that brand, you risk a dispute. You could lose the name as a result.
- Are you using the name for your own business with that same name, or for something completely different from the trademark? Then the risk is usually smaller.
- Not sure? Cancel, or first ask a lawyer or trademark attorney for advice.
You can read how a domain name dispute works in Domain name dispute: which policy applies per extension?.
Trademark holders sometimes go first
When a new extension launches, trademark holders with a record in the Trademark Clearinghouse are often allowed to register first, before it's open to everyone. This is called the sunrise. So a name you can no longer get after the launch may already have been registered by a trademark holder.
Want to know which extensions are available and what they cost? Take a look at the Domain extensions overview.