Domain names

Closely tied to the registration and protection of trademarks is the registration and protection of domain names. Any new business utilising the internet will have to register a domain name.
 

Registration

Domain names a registered with various domain name registries that operate under contract with ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). There are different rules relating to the registration of global top-level domain names (gTLDs) (e.g. .com, .gov, .edu, .org) and country-code domain top-level domain names (ccTLDs) (e.g. .dk, .de, .tv). Generic TLDs like .com are available for registration by members of the public, while restrictions apply as to who can register .edu, .gov, .org and some country code TLDs domains names.

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), which administers the internet, is also introducing several new global TLDs like .aero, .biz, .coop, .info, .museum, .name, and .pro.

DIFO (Dansk Internet Forum) administers the top-level name .dk in Denmark.

Trademark/domain name alignment

Aligning your domain name with your trademark is important for brand recognition, especially if your business is heavily reliant on the internet. This means that the availability of domain names may affect what trademarks you register.

Domain names and cybersquatting

In addition, if you have an existing trademark and discover that someone has registered your trademark as part of a domain name, it may be possible to obtain cancellation of their registration and transfer of the domain name to you. This is done by examination of the case under the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy of ICANN by dispute resolution service providers such as WIPO.

Høiberg advises on all issues relating to domain name registration and opposition.