The Trademark Clearinghouse is a global repository for trademark data, the first of its kind in the domain name space. Rather than verifying trademark information for each individual launch phase, the Trademark Clearinghouse will:

• (i) verify trademark data from multiple global regions; and
• (ii) maintain a single database with the verified trademark records.

The verified data in the Trademark Clearinghouse will be used to support both Trademark Claims and Sunrise Services, required in all new gTLDs. The Clearinghouse will play an important role in the New gTLD Program and in the on-going protection of trademark rights.

Four types of marks are eligible for inclusion in the Clearinghouse:

• Nationally or regionally registered word marks from all jurisdictions
• Word marks that have been validated through a court of law or other judicial proceeding
• Word marks protected by a statute or treaty in effect at the time the mark is submitted to the Clearinghouse for inclusion
• Other marks that constitute intellectual property may be recorded in the Clearinghouse by arrangement with a registry

A label is a string that is directly derived from your trademark to be used as part of a domain name. A label contains all characters that are contained in a trademark (or their representations) which are allowed to be used as a domain name. Whitespaces or ampersands cannot make it into a domain name and thus would be omitted or replace when generating labels.

If your trademark is "Franks Pizza", two labels would be available for this trademark:

• frankspizza
• franks-pizza

It is important to note that the label generation algorithm only allows exact representations of the trademark. Variants such as plurals (frankspizzas) or typos (franckspizza) are *not* included in the labels.

When submitting a trademark to the TMCH, labels to be used for Sunrise or Claims Service can be individually selected.

You will need to provide information about yourself and the trademark holder if that is someone other than you. This will include your contact information as well as information stating whether you are the trademark holder, someone representing the trademark holder, such as a law firm, or someone to whom the trademark has been licensed or assigned.

You will need to provide the trademark information, the class of goods or services, the jurisdiction where the trademark is registered, and other relevant information according to the type of trademark being submitted.

If you plan to use the Clearinghouse records to register names in new gTLD Sunrise periods, you will need to submit proof of use for the trademark.

The Clearinghouse may also request additional documents, such as a copy of the trademark certificate, a copy of the trademark holder's Business License, or the renewal request for the trademark.

Proof of use is a sample which demonstrates the trademark holder's efforts to communicate to a consumer so that the consumer can distinguish their products or services from those of another. Proof of use is required if you wish to participate in the Sunrise registry periods. In order to verify the proof of use, the Trademark Clearinghouse requires:

• A declaration stating that the trademark is indeed being used as you say it is.
• A sample, such as an advertisement, a website, a brochure, a branded product, or some other example showing the mark in use. The sample must match the trademark exactly.

No. However, proof of use is required if you wish to use the Clearinghouse record as a basis to register domain names during a Sunrise period. Rights holders may submit proof of use at the time they initially record their rights data in the Clearinghouse, or at a later time.

No. The Clearinghouse verifies and maintains information from many jurisdictions and classes of goods or services, and many parties may have legitimate rights in the same trademark. Allocation of domain names in a particular TLD occurs according to the registry policies for that TLD.

The domain names associated with a Clearinghouse record are generated according to a defined set of matching rules. When you submit your information to the Clearinghouse, part of your file will consist of the different domain names corresponding to that record.

Up to 20 domain names corresponding to one trademark record are included in the initial cost of verification. If there are more than 20 domain names corresponding to the record, you can pay an extra fee to have an additional 20 names associated with the record.

The Clearinghouse is a repository of data only, and trademarks from many jurisdictions can coexist in the Clearinghouse. Clearinghouse processes are designed to confirm the validity of data, not to make determinations on the substance or scope of rights held by a particular party.

No. Protections afforded to trademark registrations do not extend to applications for registrations, marks within any opposition period or registered marks that were the subject of successful invalidation, cancellation or rectification proceedings.

Trademarks can be registered with the Clearinghouse for 1, 3, or 5 year terms. Deciding to record a mark in the Trademark Clearinghouse for multiple years is a matter of peace of mind. No one can be sure how long the roll out of the new Top Level Domains will take and ICANN has stated that it intends to open additional TLD rounds in the future.

We recommend registering for a minimum period of 3 years to make sure the registration in the Clearinghouse covers the whole length of the introduction period of new gTLDs.