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New gTLD Trademark Protection Service

Don't leave your brand unprotected

Over 25 million new web addresses have already been claimed since the new top-level domains (gTLDs) were released. Is your brand name one of them? Has someone from the public, or even a competitor, started using your brand name for their own purposes? It's not too late to protect your brand.

There are still over 600 new top-level domains (gTLDs) due to be released by the end of 2017. Brand protection is now more important than ever.

How can Instra protect my brand?

Instra is an official agent for the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) - A global trademark database has been established by ICANN, the domain industry regulatory body, to protect trademark holders in anticipation of the release of new global top-level domains (gTLDs). Instra will protect your brand in three ways:


Domain Sunrise Service

Trademark owners can take advantage of a Sunrise Period of at least 30 days before domain names are offered to the general public. During this period, TMCH registrants can safeguard the domain name that matches their trademark.


Trademark Claims Service

This is a notification service which follows the Sunrise period – mandated by ICANN for all new gTLDs - to warn both domain name registrants as well as trademark holders of possible infringements.


Instra Intelligence Service

Instra acts as an intelligent and experienced filter for your trademark submissions to the TMCH – extending the services offered by the clearinghouse to your validated trademarks in anticipation of the launch of new global top-level domain names.


What are the benefits of using Instra as my agent?

Simplicity and Assurance

The process of submitting your trademark to the TMCH is complex and can be confusing - especially when submitting multiple marks or in multiple jurisdictions.

It is very important to complete the application properly. Only a single edit can be made to your application for resubmission, otherwise your credit becomes void and you will have to pay again. Instra will help you avoid this costly problem altogether.

Ease of Use

Instra has streamlined the process for submitting and managing your brands with the TMCH by providing a clear, easy to follow, client dashboard solution for validating Trademarks within the clearinghouse.

Using this step-by-step approach Instra will insure that your brand can register within the Trademark Clearinghouse quickly and with ease.

Timely Communications

Instra will notify you in advance of all new domain names as TMCH registrants gain access (prior to public access).

This allows you to have complete control over which domain spaces you want to protect your brand in, meaning you will never miss out on an important domain, and you will not have to waste money on unimportant domains.


What can happen if my Trademark is not validated within the TMCH?

If your trademark is not validated by the Trademark Clearinghouse, you will not be able to register your trademark brand in new gTLD domain names during the restricted sunrise period. This means that you assume the risk that someone else may register your protected brand in another gTLD name space. This may result in lengthy and costly legal proceedings to recover it.

By validating your mark through the trademark clearing house, you can have peace of mind that you will have the option for applying for your brand when New gTLD names are launched during sunrise period. In addition to this, you can also be alerted about any potential validations that closely resemble your trademark name, ensuring you can be alerted to any possibly IP issues at the earliest possible stage. This features gives trademarks holder an advantage – to ensure that they have the option of protecting their trademark rights. While the Trademark Clearinghouse validation is only optional, we do highly recommend it for all IP holders, to ensure that you have every possible chance of securing your brand with the forthcoming launch of New gTLDs.


The TMCH accepts 3 types of trademarks:

  • Registered Trademarks
  • Court validated marks
  • Marks protected by statute or treaty

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