Brand Protection (DPML^®)

The Domains Protected Marks List or DPML is a rights protection mechanism introduced by Identity Digital, the company which operates the highest number of new top-level domain applications. AdultBlock, Trademark Sentry & EPS are similar (but not identical) services provided by the ICM Registry, .CLUB, and Uni respectively.

In order to qualify for the DPML, your trademark must be validated through the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) and you must present the Signed Mark Data (SMD) file demonstrating your trademark’s proof of use. DPML Blocks may be revoked should the corresponding TMCH enrollment be allowed to expire.

Comprehensive The DPML allows you to protect your brand and trademark across all the different gTLDs or new domain extensions applied for by Identity Digital. This prevents your competitors and from infringing and registering domain names that contain your trademark.

Control and Flexibility The DPML blocks domain registrations that contain or directly match your trademark, unless the domain is secured during the Sunrise Period. While these domains are blocked, you still retain control over the usage of these domains by purchasing domain overrides.

Simple The minimum term of an initial DPML submission is 5 years. During this time, all domains that are covered by your DPML block are protected, thus eliminating the need for administrative and maintenance costs of these domains.

Affordable The DPML is a cost-effective solution against trademark infringement. Traditional domain dispute cases were resolved by submitting a Unified Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and fees for each complaint ranged from $1000 to $2000; this means that for every domain in contention, separate fees need to be paid.

An alternative option to the UDRP is to register all domain names that contain a brand’s keywords and variations of it. This is an expensive option, especially for organizations with massive domain portfolios.

As it is anticipated that Identity Digital will have in excess of 200 domain extensions approved, protecting your trademark and brand can cost you as little as $3.00 per domain per year, making it an affordable trademark protection mechanism.

Aside from the trademark validation prerequisite, trademarks submitted must be an exact match or contain the exact match of your trademarks.

• 1) One to two letter characters are not permitted; and
• 2) Three character DPML terms are only accepted if they are an exact match of the trademark submitted

As you may have noticed, we have 5 separate brand protection programs listed above, if you sign up for all of them your brand will be covered across their entire portfolio of 317 (262+40+15) domain extensions. Please note that your brand could potentially still be vulnerable on other domain extensions which are not included under this program and we recommend that you register domain names for the others.

A trademark owner purchasing a DPML block may select only one label listed in a SMD file. All labels in the SMD file are not automatically blocked by one DPML subscription.

For example, the SMD file for a company called “Trade & Mark” may contain three variants:

• TradeandMark
• Trade-and-mark
• Trade-mark

In the example above, Trade & Mark will need to purchase three DPML blocks to cover all of the labels they own.

When you submit your trademark to the DPML, any domains that either match or contain your trademark are effectively blocked off. If you were the one who applied for that DPML block, only you will be able to manage those restrictions. This effectively blocks any party from registering any domains that contain or match your trademark.

Domain names that have already been registered (i.e. by another Trademark owner) will remain unblocked. The only way to block or claim the domain name is if it expires and is not renewed.

You can unlock specific domain names that your organization wants to use by submitting a domain override with your TMCH validated trademark and SMD file. The override can be submitted at any point in time, as long as your DPML submission is still active.

Please note that you will have to pay an override fee plus the domain’s registration fee to override a domain block.

The DPML itself isn’t a domain registration but protects your brand across all the domain extensions operated by Identity Digital. The blocked domains will not result in a Domain Name that resolves on the public Internet, but will be published in the WHOIS database and provide information about the DPML Block Holder. The DPML also protects keywords that contain your trademark; in other words, domains that MATCH or CONTAIN your trademark are protected.

The Sunrise period allows trademark holders that have successfully validated their trademarks through the TMCH to register individual and fully operational names that MATCH the labels in their SMD file.

During this time, you may register exact matches to your trademark, even if they have been previously “blocked” by another party’s DPML registration.

To ensure that your brand and trademarks are protected, we recommend participating during the Sunrise Periods of domains that you feel are most at risk.

When you submit your trademark to the DPML, any domains that either match or contain your trademark are effectively blocked off. If you were the one who applied for that DPML block, only you will be able to manage those restrictions. This effectively blocks any party from registering any domains that contain or match your trademark.

Domain names that have already been registered (i.e. by another Trademark owner) will remain unblocked. The only way to block or claim the domain name is if it expires and is not renewed.

The trademark requirements for AdultBlock Services were expanded in mid-May 2021 to accept the following types of trademarks:

• Registered Trademarks: Nationally or Regionally registered trademarks that are in force at the date the application is examined
• Unregistered Trademarks: A mark created by a business or individual to signify or distinguish a product or service. In some jurisdictions/countries, unregistered trademarks are also referred to as common law trademarks
• Company/Organization Name: Registered Companies as well as “Trading As” or “Doing Business As” names are eligible for the AdultBlock service
• Celebrity Name: Famous persons, sports stars and personalities, political figures, actors, social media celebrities, and public figures

For unregistered trademarks, celebrity names and other extended marks that are treated at par with trademarks for AdultBlock, Webnames will use an expert third-party verification agent to enable you to protect your brand. Contact us, to get started.