Doing Business in Cyberspace: Protecting Your Company Name

The name of a company can be a valuable asset. Protecting that asset is serious business. Assume you have established a business called Newco. You've made sure to register the name with the Secretary of State and you have also filed to do business in every other state. The business is doing well. Customers and the general public are beginning to recognize your company's name. You have even hired an advertising firm to do some nationwide marketing. You now decide its time to conquer the next frontier, Cyberspace. You gather all the necessary information and apply with Network Information Center ("InterNIC") for the Domain Name "Newco.com." To your surprise, InterNIC informs you that the name is unavailable. Some other entity has already reserved that name. How can that be, you wonder. You have been doing business for years in all fifty states. Many companies, including Fortune 500 companies recently have asked themselves this same question. The answer lies with the growing popularity of Domain Names on the Internet, and the inability for those entities who oversee its architecture to keep up with the growth.

In some ways, Domain Names are more important than any other type of name protection. Having a Domain Name is becoming as common as having a telephone number. However, a Domain Name is not simply an address or a number. Your company's Domain Name should be intuitive so that users can guess what the name may be and easily access your web site. However, unlike trademarks and corporate names, only one entity can own an exact term as a Domain Name, no matter what type of industry they are in. Companies that have not acted quickly, have been forced to adopt secondary Domain Names, which are far less intuitive than their first choice.

When applying for a Domain Name, InterNIC does not perform any type of examination of a Domain Name other than to see if the identical name has been reserved. If you believe that a someone has obtained a Domain Name illegally, the burden is on you to oppose. Should you wish to oppose a Domain Name, you must submit proof of ownership of a valid and subsisting U.S. or foreign federal trademark registration on the Principal Register which first use date or effective date predates the activation date of the Domain Name. The most recent Domain Name Dispute Policy, effective September 9, 1996, expressly states that Network Solutions, Inc. ("NSI"), the division of InterNIC which oversees Domain Name registrations, does not determine legality of Domain Name registration and does not act as an arbitrator of a dispute. Moreover, the Domain Name holder is required to indemnify NSI for all losses arising or related from the use or registration of the Domain Name. Another new requirement under the Dispute Policy is that an opposer of a Domain Name must first give notice to the Domain Name registrant specifying unequivocally and with particularity that the registration and use of the registrant's Domain Name violates the legal rights of the opposer.

Once you have followed the appropriate procedures , NSI will place the name on "Hold" and give the registered Domain Name holder an opportunity to prove that it is the senior user of the Domain Name. If the registered Domain Name holder fails to provide proof, NSI will place the Domain Name on "Hold" with the assignment of a new name and will allow the holder to use both names simultaneously for a period of time. NSI shall only reinstate the name upon receiving (i) a properly authenticated order from a federal or state court; or (ii) satisfactory evidence from the parties of the resolution of the dispute.

Domain Name registration is on a first come, first serve basis. The best way to secure your Domain Name is to register it as early as possible.