Why are brand owners slow to react?
It’s no secret that domain brand owners have taken a rather slow approach to protecting their brands online, more than six months after the new gTLDs started popping out.
Part of the first batch was the dot .Bike gTLD and it’s exactly that one that Emma Lenthall, partner with law firm Reed Smith, chose to use as an example of blatant brand “Cybersquatting.”
Yep, it’s time to use the “C word” once again.
Citing a study performed in February by a partner of the law firm, the article on Techradar presents data that supports its claim of blatant cybersquatting among the particular gTLD.
According to the report, only four out of 20 prominent “bike” brands are actually registered by the brand owners; the rest are unrelated registrations.
Surely a small sample to establish an allegation that gTLDs are the cybersquatter’s paradise of sorts, but at least the article points out that “brands are slow to react.”
One has to wonder how almost two years of preparation by ICANN should have led to a more clear cut approach and adoption of gTLDs by the brand owners, that can secure their brands during the so-called “sunrise period” as well.
For the full article, click here.
