Many benefits flow from the new domain extensions: They pave the way to websites, help to optimize the hit rate in search engines and are very useful to support marketing campaigns. And if the used new gTLD names a special category matching the campaign, it will have an additional positive impact on the user experience.
Unfortunately, nTLDs are also used improperly to damage the reputation of established brands through cyber and dot squatting. Cyber squatting means the deliberate registration of domains that are associated to brands; dot squatting means to intentionally register trademark domains without dots between the subdomains and the domain extension. The unlawful appropriation of brand domains is made to extort money from the relevant companies or brand owners. The blackmailers offer the domains at exorbitant price and very often the companies pay the price in order to avoid any damaging to their brand or the company.
Registering brand-relevant domains indiscriminately doesn't seem to be the most efficient way to protect trademarks online. It'd be more effective to make use of automated online solutions. They can provide more target-oriented, and therefore more efficient, precautions against online trademark infringement for less effort and money:
The Trademark Clearinghouse
For trademark protection ICANN has provided the so called Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH), a validation and protection mechanism to protect trademarks during the introductions of new gTLDs. The TMCH has two functions: To authenticate contact details and verify trademark entries, as well as store the trademark data in a central database. The TMCH mechanism allows trademark owners to register their trademark domains before other interested parties during the sunrise phases of all newly introduced nTLDs.
The Trademark Claims Service
The Trademark Claims Service is a useful information service provided by ICANN. Parties who wish to register a trademark domain stored in the TMCH during the first 90 days of a new gTLD General Availability receive a warning about potential trademark infringement. If the interested party selects to register the relevant domain despite the warning, the affected trademark holder specified in the TMCH will be informed about the potential trademark infringement.
The TMCH Service by Schlund Technologies
The easiest way to protect trademarks online is to make use of the TMCH Service from Schlund Technologies. It offers various practical services and even supports trademark owners to find the ideal domain strategy. For example, when entering the data into the TMCH Agent webinterface users will be informed promptly if a "proof of use" is required, they can carry out preregistrations and the contract term for the use of the Trademark Clearinghous mechanism will be extended automatically.