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Corporation Service Company Advises Organizations That New Generic Top-Level Domain Application Process Is Only the Beginning

CSC Provides Guidance on How to Prepare and Monitor During the New gTLD Evaluation Process, Following April Deadline

Whether or not your company has applied for a New gTLD, there are still several more steps to ensure brand protection during the New gTLD objection period and beyond. Understanding this, CSC, the industry leader in corporate domain name services, is guiding executives on what to expect in the months following the New gTLD application process, which closes on April 12, 2012.

"We understand the time, effort and resource many companies have put forth during the application process," said Gretchen Olive, Director of Policy & Industry Affairs at Corporation Service Company. "However, we've been stressing to the industry that this is only the beginning of the process. Companies will now need to prepare to defend their brand and respond during ICANN's evaluation process, which should last from April 2012 onwards."

CSC advises executives on the following potential actions and key milestone dates to defend their brand in the New gTLD application and launch processes:

• List of gTLD Applications - Within two weeks after the close of the application submittal period, ICANN will release a list of applicants and their TLDs. This list represents organizations that ICANN has determined are complete and ready to move forward.
• Watch and review - Now is the time to be proactive. The objection period is a short window of time, so brand owners must have a strategy in place. This strategy must not only address the infringing applications, but terms common to your industry as well.
• Objection scenarios - once the list of TLD applications has been published, there will be a period of time to file a formal objection. After evaluating the list, organizations should plan on whether or not to object. The various scenarios include legal rights, string confusion, community objections, morality and limited public interest objection.
• Auction scenarios - If there are multiple applicants with the same or visually similar string that are all deemed qualified, there may be instances where an auction will be utilized to determine the victor.
• Sunrise registration - this pre-launch phase provides trademark holders the opportunity to register domain names in a TLD before registration is generally available to the public. It is a mandatory process for all new gTLDs.
• Trademark Clearinghouse - One of the new protections being tested in the new gTLD program is the introduction of the Trademark Clearinghouse. Rights holders will be able to register and have their marks validated so that it may be more economical to participate in multiple launches and get notice of exactly matching infringements during your sunrise registrations.

To help clients prepare for New gTLDs, CSC has created a full spectrum of solutions to help not only those that are considering applying for a New gTLD but those interested in monitoring for infringement in this space. Additionally, CSC can help prepare and submit applications for New gTLDs and set up and maintain gTLDs. For additional information, download CSC's white paper, "New gTLDs: What Should I Tell My Board?" at: http://www.cscglobal.com/gtldwp.

About CSC
Corporation Service Company, a privately held service organization founded in 1899, provides domain portfolio strategy, management and recovery services for global brands; matter management, corporate compliance, and trustee services for companies and law firms worldwide; and due diligence and transactional services for the world's largest financial institutions. An ICANN-accredited registrar since 1999 and a longtime advocate for intellectual property (IP) rights and their protection online, CSC is a trusted partner of more than half the 100 Best Global Brands (Interbrand®). A recent survey by World Trademark Review ranked CSC #1 in customer approval for domain management services. To learn more about CSC's New gTLD services, visit www.cscglobal.com today.