Register for .Info and .Biz Internet Domains

April 24, 2002

Two new domains, .info and .biz, were launched for use over the Internet on September 19, 2001 and October 1, 2001 respectively. Would you be concerned if someone else registered “[yourbusiness].biz” or “[yourbusiness].info”? While no one can predict if these domains will become as popular as “.com”, you should consider making a relatively small investment of time and money to protect your rights on these new domains to your business name and important trademarks.

A unique registration procedure has been implemented to give trademark owners the opportunity to register notice of their trademark rights with these new domain names during an early registration period. By giving notice of trademark rights and/or registering a domain name first, a business may be able to (i) prevent potential competing claims and disputes over domain names, and (ii) eliminate the time and expense of attempting to recapture a domain name that has been successfully registered by another business that uses a variation of such business' trademark.

Trademark owners had until August 6, 2001 to file an intellectual property claim and September 17, 2001 to submit a domain name application for .biz domain names, and until August 24, 2001 to file a name request during the so-called “Sunrise Registration Period” for .info domain names.

If you miss the filing deadline for .biz and another business obtains a domain name registration for a name that your business owns the intellectual property related thereto, you must use the The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN")’s Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy ("UDRP") to resolve the issues between your business and the business that made the domain name registration. Under UDRP, you can either (i) file a complaint in a court of proper jurisdiction against the domain-name holder, or (ii) in cases of abusive registration, submit a complaint to an approved dispute-resolution service provider.

If you missed the filing deadlines for .info, you may have lost the opportunity to apply for a domain name prior to the launch of the registry and the acceptance of regular domain name registrations. In such event, if you act prior to December 26, 2001, you can use the "Sunrise Challenge Process" if one of the following three conditions is met: (i) a registrant did not hold a valid trademark or service mark at the time the domain name was registered, (ii) the domain name registered is not identical to the registered trademark or service mark, or (iii) the registered trademark or service mark was not effective before October 2, 2000. After December 26, 2001, or if none of the conditions described above are met, you can utilize ICANN’s UDRP, or utilize the court system, to resolve the dispute.

For more details on registering for.info or .biz internet domains, please contact Jim Carlisle at 412-297-4900 or jcarlisle@cohenlaw.com.