The Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) can reveal that over 500,000 Claims Notices (CNIS) have been delivered, of which 95% of the queries for trademark terms are not being followed through to a live registration. Notices issued by the TMCH are sent as a warning to anyone attempting to register a domain name which matches a trademark term recorded in the TMCH and this metric clearly shows the deterrent is working.
So far, less than 70 of the 1,300 applied for Top-Level Domains (TLDs) are both live and in the phase of accepting registrations from the general public, yet the number of warnings issued by the TMCH clearly indicates a high level of interest in trademarked terms from third parties.
The data is revealed in conjunction with a key TMCH milestone – the first anniversary since opening for submission of trademarks. To date, the TMCH is providing protection to over 10,000 brands and businesses and over 28,000 trademarks have been recorded within its database. Since its inception, the TMCH has worked continually to raise awareness of its critical function and to maximise the benefits it offers to trademark owners. Crucially, by now it provides an ongoing notification service which is not time limited, as well as protection for previously abused terms.
