Domain Blocking Program Primer

The launch of the new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) has ushered in a new era of naming conventions. This opens up new avenues for marketing and branding opportunities for both small and large corporations, but it also exposes them to new challenges online.

As the list of available extensions grows, brands now face an uphill challenge of identifying, registering, and defending their brands against cybersquatting. With that in mind, several domain registries have launched domain blocking programs to provide a mechanism for blocking unauthorized third parties from registering domain names that infringe upon a legitimate registrant’s trademark.

Since 2011, the world’s largest brands have been utilizing blocking programs to protect their brands from public registration, without actually having to register the domain names.

What are Domain Blocking Programs?

Domain blocking programs are proactive services offered through specific registry operators that prevent non-rights holders from performing infringing domain registrations across select domain extensions.

By purchasing a single product at a fraction of the cost of performing copious traditional defensive domain registrations or pursuing URS (Uniform Rapid Suspension System) or UDRP (Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy) proceedings, a domain blocking program is extremely cost effective. The service fee covers ALL new gTLD extensions offered by the respective registry product, for one fee.

How much does Domain Blocking cost?

Each domain blocking program price varies based on the registry provider and length of registration term.

What are the benefits of using Domain Blocking services?

Comprehensive: Domain blocking services allow you to protect your brand and trademark across all the different gTLDs or new domain extensions each respective registry manages. This prevents your competitors and bad actors from infringing and registering domain names that contain your brand or trademark.

Control and Flexibility: Domain blocking offers a high degree of control and flexibility. Not only can you block domain registrations that contain or directly match your trademark, but some programs offer the flexibility to unblock domains for specific campaigns or promotions, giving you the freedom to move domains in and out of your blocklist as needed.

Simple: Domain blocking services offer a comprehensive solution to ensure all attempted domain name registrations associated with a brand or trademark are safeguarded. Once a block is put in place it provides a blanket of protection against potential threats for the subscribed term. This all-encompassing coverage eliminates the need for individual domain registration, thereby reducing costs associated with monitoring, administration, and maintenance.

Affordable: Domain blocking offers an effective solution against trademark infringement. Traditionally, resolving domain disputes involved submitting a Unified Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), with separate fees, ranging from $1000 – $2000+ for each complaint. This could become costly, especially when multiple domains were in contention.

An alternative to this approach is to register all domain names that contain a brand’s keywords and variations. However, this can be an expensive option, particularly for organizations with extensive domain portfolios.

With the advent of new domain extensions, protecting your trademark and brand has become more affordable. This makes brand protection programs a cost-effective mechanism for trademark protection.

How many gTLD extensions are protected by Domain Blocking?

The available programs prevent (block) domain registrations over hundreds of extensions and that coverage is expanding rapidly. Here is a breakdown of the different registry programs we provide service for:

• Brand Safety Alliance: 600+
• Identity Digital: 300+
• TMCH: 43
• UNR: 26
• ICM: 4

New extensions will be added to each registry’s coverage as new domain extensions are brought to market. Each registry’s domain blocking service will cover all the extensions they currently offer, including those extensions that come to markets after the service is purchased.

For a more comprehensive list of TLDs that each program covers, please contact Webnames Corporate at 1-866-470-6820 or email: corporate@webnames.ca.

How do Domain Blocking programs work?

Domain blocking services are the industry’s answer to high-cost voluminous defensive domain registrations. Via a single product purchase, the future ability for another party to register a domain matching your brand is blocked – across hundreds of domain extensions. These programs are highly cost effective as compared to defensive domain registrations and offer peace of mind to your brand and legal teams. Here’s how it works:

1. Interception: When a user tries to register a domain name, the request is intercepted by the domain blocking service.
2. Checking: The service checks the requested domain name against a predefined blocklist or denylist. This list contains all the domain names that the service is set to block.
3. Blocking: If the requested domain name is found on the blocklist, the service responds with a blocked message. This prevents the user from registering that domain name.

It is important to note that domain blocking is not a domain registration – conceptually it is the opposite. A domain block prevents registrations for domain names that match or contain a trademark. There are instances where identical marks can be owned by two or more parties simultaneously to accommodate for variations in legal rights that exist due to different countries, classes, or jurisdictions to ensure that marks owners can protect their own legal rights. When this happens, there are processes in place should a legitimate mark owner wish to register a domain previously blocked by another rights holder.

What is an eligible trademark?

For basic domain blocking programs, marks submitted must be an exact match or contain the exact match of your trademarks.

• One to two letter characters are not permitted; and
• Three-character terms are only accepted if they are an exact match of the trademark submitted.

Here is an example of acceptable vs. unacceptable terms:

How many variants of my trademark will the Domain Blocking service protect?

When subscribing to a brand protection program, not all your marks labels will be blocked automatically by one subscription.

For example, if your company was called “Trade & Mark”, you may have registered three variants of your label to be trademarked:

• TradeandMark
• Trade-and-Mark
• Trade-Mark

In this example, Trade & Mark would need to purchase three blocks to cover all the labels they own.

Note: Domain blocking services that offer a “plus” version will typically allow additional marks without having to subscribe to more blocks. Please contact us for more information on the protection provided in the program you are interested in subscribing to.

What if I want to use a blocked domain name?

You can unblock specific domain names that your organization wants to use. Each domain blocking service has different methods and fees associated with these unblocking mechanisms. Please contact us for more information on how to unblock on the program you are interested in. Note: Some programs have fees associated with unblocking and some don’t, but with all these programs you will need to pay the registration fee to register the domain once it’s unblocked.

What are the different Domain Blocking services Webnames Corporate offers?

Brand Safety Alliance: GlobalBlock & GlobalBlock+

Program Overview: GlobalBlock instantly blocks all available names matching your brand in over 600 domain extensions simultaneously, providing a level of protection for brand owners not previously possible.

Key Features: Both GlobalBlock and GlobalBlock+ offer instant match coverage across 600+ domains, including premium domain names. GlobalBlock+ offers increased protection that additionally blocks a select range of look-alike variations that are often used in online scams.

Eligibility: GlobalBlock & GlobalBlock+ are open to registered trademarks, unregistered trademarks, company or organization names and celebrity names. New applicants will first need to undergo a verification process to demonstrate mark ownership or brand proof of use. This process is free of charge, and existing TMCH SMD files will be honoured as valid forms of verification.

Domain count: 600+

Identity Digital: DPML & DPML+

Program Overview: DPML, or Domains Protected Marks List, is a service that allows brand owners to block the registration of their trademark-related terms in all the Identity Digital TLDs.

Key Features: Both DPML and DPML+ blocks the registration of your brand on all the extensions Identity Digital manages. DPML+ offers variant blocking and blocking of premium domain names.

Eligibility: New applicants will first need to undergo a verification process to demonstrate mark ownership. The verification process involves a one-time fee and results in the issuance of a Signed Mark Data (SMD) file that you will use as part of future DPML purchases. 

Domain Count: 300+

TMCH: TREx

Program Overview: TREx is a joint effort between the Trademark Clearinghouse and various registries.

Key Features: This block protects your verified trademarks across 43 different new gTLDs, including a range of geographic TLDs. TREx blocks only exact matches of your verified marks and there is no premium version available that covers additional labels.

Eligibility: New applicants will first need to undergo a verification process to demonstrate mark ownership. The verification process involves a one-time fee and results in the issuance of a Signed Mark Data (SMD) file that you will use as part of future TREx purchases.

Domain Count: 43 (21 generic TLDs & 22 geographic TLDs)

UNR: Uni EPS & Uni EPS+

Program Overview: The Uni EPS service covers both standard and premium domains the UNR registry manages. (Note: The UNR registry offers its platform to other registries, and they can opt to add their extensions to both the Uni EPS and Uni EPS+ services.) The Uni EPS+ service is an enhanced version of the basic Uni EPS with the key differences being that Uni EPS+ includes all Unicode IDN variants at no extra cost and includes all additional labels in the SMD file.

Key Features: Uni EPS blocks one label contained in the SMD file, while Uni EPS+ blocks all labels contained in the SMD file, plus all homoglyph lookalike domain variations.

Eligibility: New applicants will first need to undergo a verification process to demonstrate mark ownership. The verification process involves a one-time fee and results in the issuance of a Signed Mark Data (SMD) file that you will use as part of future Uni EPS purchases.

Domain Count: 10

ICM: AdultBlock & AdultBlock+

Program Overview: This program protects your trademark across four different extensions used by the adult industry.

Key Features: Both AdultBlock and AdultBlock+ have the same powerful features of domain blocking across all four adult themed TLDs, where the names are not currently registered. This includes premium domain names, as well as the future registration of names already registered. AdultBlock+ goes even further by providing unlimited blocking of all additional look-alike names generated using the Unicode Consortium standard.

Eligibility: Trademark holders with a valid SMD file issued by TMCH, dotXXX Sunrise B participants, and registered trademark, unregistered trademark, company names or celebrity names that can supply appropriate documentation for verification of rights. Please contact us for more information on the verification process and the documentation required.

Domain Count: 4

Trademark Sentry: .CLUB Domain

Program Overview: A service launched by .CLUB Domains, LLC, offering comprehensive protection in the .CLUB namespace.

Key Features: Blocks a trademark from appearing in any portion of a domain with the .CLUB extension.

Eligibility: The trademark must be fanciful, as defined by the USPTO, and meet the .CLUB Registry’s additional requirements. Please contact us for more information on what a fanciful trademark is and what the additional requirements are.

Domain Count: 1