Although nowadays almost every company already has a registered domain name, when registering a new one, or even the first one, the procedure is done without observing some important aspects.
Registering a domain is more than simply choosing a good name for a website that is related to your brand.
Therefore, in today’s post, we will address the care involving domain registration and registration
How is the domain registration done?
Registering a domain is very simple, fast and accessible to virtually anyone.
Basically, it consists of observing some aspects in choosing the most appropriate domain for your brand, your company or your product, or the theme that surrounds your website and from there choosing a company that will manage the registration by period that you want to keep it.
It is necessary to remember that “buying” a domain registration is not synonymous with having the right to use it for a period of time. indefinite po or exclusive possession thereof. This is a generally annual concession that needs to be renewed through a procedure and payment of a fee.
For national domains – ending in .br – the requirements may vary according to the extension ( TLD) that you intend to use, but in general the most common ones, such as “.com.br”, do not require more than registration data and the annual fee payment.
This facility has made with people – individuals or corporations – registering domains, sometimes in droves, trying to surround themselves with a variety of domains that may be useful or important in terms of marketing strategies, whether traditional or digital.
By now you must be asking yourself: “If it’s easy, it’s cheap, what’s the problem?”
The trademark registration and domain registration
There was a time when companies proliferated and even people saw that with the advancement of the commercial Internet, having a good domain name was – and still is – essential for for the development of a website, especially in the case of well-known brands and based on this finding, they “specialized” in registering any domain that could be interesting.
They registered anything that was identical or similar to famous brands that had not yet registered a corresponding domain, to those that could be useful for content sites, blogs and topics related to the most commonly searched keywords on search engines, all for profit.
Without legislation or even jurisprudence that prevented them from registering any domain they wanted, they created a true parallel trade to the national registration bodies, after all, if someone wanted or needed it, they should “buy” from them the right to use the registered domains.
There have been famous cases of legal disputes involving large brands that could not use an equivalent domain, as the domain was already registered.
In order to resolve this type of situation, In Brazil, Registro.br – the official body responsible for managing .br domains – created the SACI-Adm, which, in addition to being a system, is a regulation that aims to manage conflicts between someone who has a registered national domain and a claimant. , which is the one who contests the domain holder and its concession.
One of the main points – but not the only one – is the registration of the trademark by the claimant at the INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property) , which is the official Brazilian body responsible for the matter.
Briefly, anyone can contest the legitimacy of a .br domain, as long as the domain name is identical or similar enough to create confusion with a brand, whether or not it has been registered with the INPI, provided that it is effectively known in its segment or is still a business name or a name or even a surname, as in the case of an artist, in which such name characterizes them in a unique way.
The process via SACI-Adm is not properly fast and although it does not involve direct costs with Registro.br, it can cause other indirect costs, but from the point of view of those who have the domain registered, it is no longer advantageous, since they can lose ownership of the domain, without profit nothing and still have costs in the dispute process.
In addition to SACI-Adm, there are also legal avenues.
There are already several cases of litigation in court origin, originating from the dispute over the ownership of national domains, when the claimant has a registered trademark whose domain requested is identical or even can be confused with the mark, it is not uncommon for the claimant to win the case.
Added to this are other possible implications, when a lawsuit for material and moral losses and damages is not also filed, which can be an important loss for anyone who has registered a domain under these conditions.
But it doesn’t stop there…
Other consequences
There are other implications when o any domain is registered, even for its own use and in good faith, when it eventually has a close or apparent relationship with a registered or famous trademark, as well as certain names:
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- The website eventually made using the domain and everything that involves it, such as visual identity and that is linked to the brand / domain, its content, at least needs to be changed. Most of the time, it will need to be done all over again;
- The longer the linked site when the domain exists, more SEO, Content Marketing and Digital Marketing work has been done and will consequently be lost, as authority is intrinsically related to the domain. Losing ownership of it means losing everything that was done to position it in search engines;
- In addition to any monetary investments made, the time and work spent will also be lost;
- If the conflict is made public, the company’s digital reputation will be affected to some degree;
- In situations where the business is exclusively online, such as a content site, an e-commerce without corresponding physical stores, or even a blog where it is the source of revenue, it may imply the end of the company;
Any profits obtained for one’s own benefit, which demonstrably occurred due to the use of the domain and that this is due to the notoriety of the brand, can give rise to a lawsuit;
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- In the case of actions in the justice, the costs of the losing party (succumbency fees) can be paid by it.
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Cautions when registering a domain
For all that we have seen, registering a domain requires some important precautions:
Register the trademark – trademark registration is not something simple, easy, fast and, above all, it is not accessible from a financial point of view for many companies. However, when possible, it is recommended, as the process itself with the INPI ensures that the trademark is not used by anyone else, thus drastically reducing the chances of future litigation;
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- Advice – if it is possible to register the brand, do it with the support of a specialist company, which can give you the necessary advice, informing you of everything that is accurate and having an idea of the investment needed;
- Surveys – do surveys using the websites of search to identify companies that have brands or even corporate name equal or even partially equal to the domain. Even those that do not have a website and an associated domain can appear on different websites and social networks;
- Whois – currently all companies that provide the domain registration service offer a whois, through which it is possible to obtain information about who has the registration of an unavailable domain. This information is particularly useful for you to know who are the companies behind domains that you are interested in and, possibly, which other domains they have ownership of;
- Alternatives – avoid alternatives, such as registering domains that only use other extensions, such as .net.br, when .com.br is already registered, especially in the case of trademarks notoriously known. This isn’t even positive in the least from a branding point of view, even if there’s no future dominance contest. Being unique, having your own identity and not being confused with another company is always better;
- Registration of other domains – making sure that there is no possibility of confusion or dispute over the chosen domain, if possible, register the alternatives, such as other popular extensions (ex: meunegocio.com.br, meunegocio.com, meunegocio.net.br, …), so that you do not have to be the complaining party, for a third party to register a domain associated with your brand.
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Conclusion
Registering a domain that is the same or similar to a registered trademark can be a serious problem. Find out why and how to avoid this.
