Included a “.com” in your trademark registration? It would seem like a tattoo obtained during a wild spring break, you’re stuck with it.

It’s just one of the trademark practices from the dot-com era that is tripping up trademark owners for the .xxx sunrise period.

Many trademarks include a “.com”.  However, during the .XXX Sunrise, trademark owners cannot drop letters to obtain a domain.  So, a trademark such as “example.com” is eligible for “examplecom.xxx” but not for “example.xxx”.

This policy goes against many other standards. For instance, the trademark industry, including the dispute policy, federal courts and the USPTO, long ago decided that for a trademark that included an extension, the extension was immaterial.

But under the rules for the .XXX sunrise, a trademark like “tm.com” is not eligible for “tm.xxx”.  It would be eligible only for “tmcom.xxx”.  Simply dropping the “.com” is not allowed.

However, there is solution for trademark owners.  They can file an amendment 7 with the USPTO to have the “.com” removed from their trademark.  There is still time to do this before the .xxx sunrise period ends.

The change will also benefit trademark owners in the up-coming ICANN trademark clearinghouse as well.

This morning, we announced a special .XXX “opt-out” process to help brand owners block the use of their registered trademarks in the new adult-orientated domain. Brand owners have until October 28th to protect their marks. To learn more about the special opt-out page, visit: http://www.encirca.com/tcm/

We worked with Thomson Compumark to develop a special product to help allow those not involved in the adult entertainment industry opt-out of participation in the .XXX domain.

The Sunrise B period is specifically for those outside of the adult entertainment industry interested in blocking and protecting their trademarks from being registered by others. It is very important for brand owners to act during the Sunrise B period because after October 28, 2011, all remaining .XXX domain names will become available to register by the general public. This means that any unprotected brands could be attached to a .XXX domain.

EnCirca is uniquely positioned to assist Thomson CompuMark because we are pre-validating all sunrise applications with technology that mirrors the Registry’s validation checks for the .XXX sunrise period. By determining eligibility and detecting conflicts between government trademark databases and .XXX sunrise applications, customers will be able to correct their applications before registry fees are incurred.

In addition, we are still offering a money-back guarantee for trademark owners applying for the .XXX sunrise period. Visit our .XXX page for all the details!

Registrars will accept your sunrise applications now through  October 28.  But the deadline to provide required documentation is November 2.  Avoid this trap!

Make sure your application and documentation are completed and submitted at the same time.  That way, you know they are consistent and will not cause an issue during validation.

Remember, there are no second chances.  You are not allowed to make any corrections to your application once it is submitted.  So, if your trademark record or license has conflicting information, you are stuck.

Some registrars won’t care when you submit your documentation, since they are not offering any guarantee or refund.

Documentation is required for licensees, assignees and trademark records from countries that the validation agent cannot verify online.  The registry has not published the list of countries this includes.  So, get a copy yourself to review and have it handy in case your registrar asks.

EnCirca is offering a money-back guarantee if your application is rejected by the validation agent.  For more details, see http://www.encirca.com/xxx.

This morning, we announced that we’re offering a full refund of all .XXX Sunrise fees for any application that is rejected by the .XXX registry validation agent. EnCirca is the only registrar offering a full refund.

We’re confident that we can successfully submit Sunrise applications because we will first pre-validate all applications to ensure they are eligible for the .XXX sunrise and then contact the applicant if we discover any issues with the application.

Because there are no second chances with .XXX to correct Sunrise applications, our process helps trademark owners get it right the first time.

Our .XXX Domain Registration page has all the full-refund offer details.

ICANN recently published a Registrant’s Rights and Responsibilities summary. This summary of your rights and responsibilities as a domain name owner is available here.

The document found on the above link is intended to summarize our existing legal terms. However, there are two areas that we’d like to bring your attention to provide some clarity. The first issue is about using privacy/proxy services in the whois and the second issue surrounds what can happen after a domain name expires.

We have in-depth information on our site about both of these issues, however regarding the privacy/proxy services; EnCirca does not provide a privacy or proxy service. There are several third-parties that provide this service.

Please note that only the contact information shown in the Whois will be escrowed by ICANN. In the event of Registrar, Registry or Privacy/Proxy service failure, future notices may be sent only to the contact information within the Whois database.

Regarding what happens to a name once it expires, we’d like to refer you to our expiration policy for a complete overview.

Please contact us with any questions regarding these changes and how they may impact you and your business.

Next week’s ICANN meeting in Singapore is expected to commence with an announcement that the new top-level domain process is officially underway.  After a four-month communication program, ICANN is expected to begin accepting applications for new extensions sometime in the fall.

EnCirca president, Tom Barrett will be serving on an ICANN panel for new gTLDS at the meeting in Singapore.   The panel is designed for those interested in applying for a new top-level domain.   The areas Tom will address include: Community and Geographic-based applications and Rights Protection Mechanisms.

The Rights Protection Mechanisms include mandatory trademark claims and sunrise periods for every new registry and a new rapid take-down policy in addition to the long-standing UDRP dispute process.  There is also a new emphasis on abuse preventions procedures as well.

Some additional details may still emerge regarding government role in geographic-based top-level domains for cities, states and regions.

Remote participation will be available for those not planning to attend in person.  For more details, visit the ICANN Singapore meeting website at http://singapore41.icann.org/

EnCirca is pleased to extend our special .CO registration promotion for the month of June.  All new one year registrations are just $14.99.  .CO is gaining momentum as a catchy abbreviation for “company”. 

Amazon.com has acquired A.CO, Z.CO, K.CO and Cloud.co Domain Names.  Amazon.com will join the ranks of other leading online businesses, brands and entrepreneurs that are using .CO domain names to more easily connect, communicate and engage with the world of mobile and socially connected consumers, including, among others, Twitter, Politico, and Overstock (which, of particular note, recently rebranded its international business from Overstock.com to O.CO).

A lot of great names are still available.  Check our .CO bulk search tool for free.

Attention trademark lawyers and brand owners:  make sure you have protected your company name and trademarks.

For a free availability check, go to: http://www.encirca.com/html/co-reg.shtml

Avoid trademark malfunction! Trademark owners can prevent indecent exposure by registering or blocking their marks in the new top-level domain .XXX with EnCirca. Pre-registrations are being accepted now.

EnCirca will be accepting Sunrise applications for the new top-level domain .XXX, specifically designed for the online adult entertainment industry. Businesses that are not part of the adult industry need to pay close attention because they have the opportunity to block their trademarks so that they cannot be used as a .XXX web addresses.

There will be three tracks within the Sunrise period for .XXX, two of which will be routes to conventional domain name registration by the adult industry members of the sponsored community. The third will be a route for businesses and organizations that consider themselves not to be members of the sponsored community to secure a blocked name.

.XXX is operated by ICM Registry and its launch will be in late summer 2011. To learn more about .XXX, visit
http://encirca.com/html/ex-ex-ex-registration.shtml

EnCirca is pleased to extend our special .CO registration promotion for the month of May.  All new one year registrations are just $14.99.  .CO is gaining momentum as a catchty abbreviation for “company”.  Overstock is actively advertising O.CO.

A lot of great names are still available.  Check our .CO bulk search tool for free.

Attention trademark lawyers and brand owners:  make sure you have protected your company name and trademarks.

For a free availability check, go to: http://www.encirca.com/html/co-reg.shtml

After much controversy, today IANA added the .xxx TLD to the root nameservers.

The top level domain was finally approved at the ICANN meeting on March 18, 2011. The timeline for the actual launch of the domain has not been made public.

The addition of this new TLD, while a source of contention, opens another avenue for commerce on the Internet that until now, has been restricted.

The .xxx registry website is now resolving and the delegation record for the new TLD can now also be found on the IANA website.

EnCirca will be participating in the Sunrise launch, so stay tuned for additional information.