The Trademark Clearinghouse was created by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to act as a repository for trademark information. With hundreds of new gTLDs launching, the TMCH also acts as a verification tool of trademark submissions. Once trademarks have been verified, access to the Sunrise Period, a priority registration phase, is made available to trademark owners.
Protect your trademark on the hundreds of new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) by registering your trademark on the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH).
The new gTLDs represent a major expansion of real estate on the Internet.
What is the TMCH?
Introduced as a rights protection mechanism by ICANN, the TMCH is a central repository that contains and verifies trademark information that can be used for trademark protection in domain registrations.
Why register your trademark with the
Trademark Clearinghouse?
Pre-Qualify Trademarks
Pre-qualify your registered mark for domain registration by you during any future TLD launches. Brand owners enrolled in the Trademark Clearinghouse gain access to the Sunrise Period of TLD launches.
Deter Trademark Infringement
Proactively notify third parties attempting to register domains with your mark of the existence of your marks and associated rights. When a domain search that contains an exact match of a TMCH verified mark, domain registrars are required to display a notice alerting the prospective registrant of a trademark which they must acknowledge before proceeding with the registration.
Qualify Trademarks for Domain Blocks
Qualify your registered marks to allow the purchase of proactive blocks of your marks within both existing and future TLDs. This includes brand protection programs such as DPML, EPS, AdultBlock etc.
Ongoing Notifications
Registering your trademark through the TMCH enables you to receive notifications if a third-party attempts to register your trademark as a domain name under 1200+ gTLDs including .COM, .NET, .ORG (view list).
These notifications protect your trademark even if your brand name is not registered in each new gTLD extension. TMCH in addition to Domain Monitoring and Brand Protection programs can help protect your brand online against squatting and abuse.
TMCH Validation Process
- Enroll — Dedicated account managers ensure the accuracy of your Trademark Clearinghouse submission to save you time.
- Verify — Trademark validation may take up to 34 days, but Webnames.ca can help expedite the process to 15 days or shorter, in some cases.
- Approve — Once your Trademark Clearinghouse application has been approved, you receive a SMD file with your trademark information. This file can be stored within your Webnames.ca account to quickly grant you access to the Sunrise Period of each new gTLD.
Submit Your Trademark
To submit your trademark for validation, please select your trademark type and fill out the form below to provide us with information on your registered trademark. The TMCH will accept 3 trademark types: Registered trademarks, Court validated marks and Marks protected by statute of treaty.
Need help? Call us at 1-866-470-6820 (North America) or 1-778-329-9834 (International) or by email at tmch@webnames.ca.
Why We Should Be Your Trademark Agent
As Canada’s only accredited Trademark Clearinghouse agent, Webnames.ca helps identify key new gTLDs, while giving you unparalleled advice on how to protect your brand. With years of experience, our account managers give you the right advice and solutions to protect your trademark online.
Sunrise Registration
Each new gTLD launches with a Sunrise Period, a priority registration phase exclusive to brand owners. As your trademark agent, Webnames.ca gives you advice and access to our leading domain registration system to keep your trademark safe.
Accurate Trademark Clearinghouse Submission
Save time when you submit your Trademark Clearinghouse application. Your account manager ensures that your application is always accurate and includes all the necessary information.
Automatic Renewal and Re-Validation
Your dedicated account manager ensures that your TMCH submission is always up-to-date and renewed automatically to protect your trademark.
Important gTLD Advice and Notifications
Receive up-to-date information about the gTLDs including launch dates, eligibility requirements and pricing.
Centralized Domain and Trademark Management
Track and manage all your domain names and TMCH information from a single dashboard. Monitor all your Sunrise registrations, SMD files and domain pre-orders with ease.
Comprehensive Brand Protection Solutions
Once enrolled into the Trademark Clearinghouse, Webnames.ca can help you secure domain “blocks” to keep your brand safe without having to register each domain.
Ongoing Notifications from the TMCH
All labels and marks submitted and verified on TMCH will be eligible for ongoing notifications of domain registration activity on over 1100 domain extensions including popular ones such as .COM. This will allow you to detect potential infringement activity on your registered trademarks.
Below is the complete list of domain extensions on which TMCH Ongoing Notifications are available:
Frequently Asked Questions
Each new gTLD typically has three launch phases: Sunrise, Landrush/EAP and General Availability.
Sunrise Period – the first phase of a launch, Sunrise is only available to brand owners that are enrolled in the Trademark Clearinghouse.
Landrush/Early Access Period – the subsequent phase, Landrush/EAP allows any registrant to secure a domain name, provided they are willing to pay a premium price.
General Availability – the final phase, General Availability is an ongoing phase and is open to everyone.
The Trademark Clearinghouse comes into play because it allows brand owners the ability to register their domain names prior to the general public. In addition, once a domain name hits GA, the TMCH provides a claims notice services, where brand owners are notified if their brand is infringed upon.
The Trademark Clearinghouse acts as a repository that different gTLD registries can access. Once the launch dates of individual domain extensions draw near, gTLD registries require a "Single Mark Data" (SMD) file issued by the TMCH. The SMD file grants you access to the Sunrise Period, where you can register domain names that match your validated trademark(s).
The Sunrise Period is a priority access phase granted to TMCH validated brand owners. If your trademark has been successfully enrolled in the TMCH, your SMD file allows you to register domain names that match your submitted trademark before the general public receives access to the gTLD.
The Trademark Clearinghouse not only grants you priority access to a gTLD, it also allows you access to other brand protection mechanisms such as the Domains Protected Marks List (DPML) and the claim notifications.
The DPML allows you to purchase "domain blocks" that prevent third-parties from registering domain names that contain or match your trademark. You, as the brand owner, don't need to register individual domain names and eliminates any maintenance fees.
The claim notification is a 90-day period where third-parties that attempt to register a domain name with your trademark receive an infringement warning. If they proceed, you will be notified of the infringement and can take legal action to secure the domain name.
TMCH Ongoing Notifications is a service provided by the Trademark Clearinghouse that helps you receive notifications for trademarked terms that might be a part of domain registrations across over 1100+ extensions. Webnames.ca domain monitoring on the other hand enables you to monitor domain registrations on ANY keyword, trademark or brand that you want, even if you do not hold a trademark. We recommend that you use both to protect your brand and also use domain monitoring for competitor analysis and for protecting non-trademarked brand keywords.