Many traders who wish to do business with China are not aware that China is a "first to register" country and so it is imperative to ensure that your trade mark is protected there before you start to trade. The following article gives more information on how to protect your trade mark and why it is important to do it without delay.
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The launch of the above TLD later this year, reserved for those who operate in the adult entertainment industries, could be a cause of concern to those who do not operate in this field but who find that their names or trade marks have been taken by others who then use them to operate adult only content sites.
The .xxx TLD will be available to the general public from December 6, 2011 but to safeguard the rights of trade mark owners who do not wish their trade marks to be registered under this extension by third parties, they can apply to prevent others from registering .xxx domains which are identical to their trade marks. This in effect blocks any party from registering the same trade mark with a .xxx suffix.
The period for making such applications is from September 7, 2011 to October 28, 2011 (the so-called Sunrise B period). It is essential to have a live trade mark registration which matches the name applied for exactly.
We recommend that if trade mark owners consider that there is a risk of their trade marks being used in this way that they take action now; if this is of interest to you, please let us know straightaway so that we can prepare a blocking application during the Sunrise B Period.