Brands from emerging economies do not have the luxury today of taking decades to establish an international reputation, said panelists during the International Trademark Association's (INTA's) 136th annual meeting, it was reported in a newsletter published by IP Mirror, a domain name registry which also offers cloud hosting services and brand protection.
 |
| Source: INTA website. |
According to IP Mirror, some of the suggested options for Asian brands focused on global expansion that were discussed at the event in early May in Hong Kong include:
- Adapting localised products for the international market while maintaining trademarks in the new markets.
- Spending more time and money on establishing what the brands represent, as most Asian brand names are likely unheard of, so paying attention to how the mark is presented and what message it invokes is just as important as what name is being registered.
- Buying overseas trademarks to gain access to new channels to market to foreign shoppers, or bringing those brands back home to local consumers seeking established overseas brands.
"As with any expansion, getting the appropriate localised or regionalised domain names help to secure your online brand in the respective markets," said the company in the newsletter.
INTA separately announced that wage premiums in industries with intensive intellectual property rights (IPR) are significantly higher when compared with other industries: 41% in the European Union* and 42% in the US**.
"Innovation supports millions of jobs worldwide… but only when it is protected by IP rights,” said INTA President Mei-lan Stark (Fox Entertainment Group, US). “Today, the most successful economies, fuelled by the most highly paid workforces, are those in which innovation is encouraged and IP rights are protected.”
INTA coverage on World Intellectual Property Review can be viewed here. New Legal Review did an INTA 2014 roundup here.
*Intellectual property rights intensive industries: contribution to
economic performance and employment in the European Union published by
the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) and the
European Patent Office in 2013.
**IP and the US economy –
industries in focus published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in
2012. published by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market
(OHIM) and the European Patent Office in 2013.
Global domain name registrar IP Mirror
has announced sunrise* and land rush* periods for various global top
level domain (gTLD) names. For new companies which have not managed to
get short and unique domain names with common top level domains like
'.com' and '.net', the series of new gTLDs being introduced offer much
more scope for getting an appropriate web name.
The
land rush period for '.club' expires May 6, IP Mirror said.
"Registering during land rush significantly improves your chance to
secure your desired name prior to general availability"," the company
said in a newsletter.
As the
cost of applying for a new top level domain is US$185,000, it is in the
interests of the owners of gTLDs to have as many people registering for their domain as possible.
According
to IP Mirror, the .wang (a transliteration of 网, or 'web' in Chinese)
gTLD exits the sunrise phase on May 20, while a number of gTLDs exit the
sunrise phase in June, including:
.archi
.industries
.ink
.moda
.parts
.supplies
.supply
.tools
IP Mirror also disclosed that premium domain names* for the '.sg' TLD are on sale till 30 April.
*There are three phases of domain name registration. All domain name registries are required by ICANN
to offer intellectual property claims services, also called the
'sunrise' phase. During this phase, typically 30 days long, registered
trademark holders are entitled to register domains relevant to their
marks in a new top level domain, before sales are open to the public.
The registration period lasts for two years, after which the domain has
to be reclaimed again.
The optional 'land rush'
phase follows the 'sunrise' phase, and lasts for about 30 days. It
allows anyone to register new domains on a first-come, first-served
basis, other than for premium domains. Premium domains are particularly
high-value, and sold separately at higher prices.
'Land rush' is followed
by 'general availability' or 'general launch' during which applications
are available at a lower price than during 'land rush'. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has a resolution process in the case of multiple trademark holders who want the same domain names.
More information on generic top level domains is here.
