Domain Registration

Benefits of Registering a Domain Name

Domain names are very important and have an intimate connection with branding strategies in general and trademarks in particular, that it is common to consider domain names in the context of intellectual property rights.

Domain names make it easier for the customers to remember as well as find the business' website.

As part of its branding strategy, a business often seeks to have domain names that are identical to or abbreviations of :

  • its trade mark
  • its company name, or
  • its business name

    • Domain Name Registration

    A domain name is an internet address. A domain name allows people to identify and to find one’s internet website. Technically, a domain name is not an intellectual property, in the sense that there is no law that confers domain name the status of being a “property”.

    The scope of our domain name services includes the following:

  • Registration of domain name
  • Renewal of registration of domain name
  • Transaction (e.g. sale and purchase) of domain names
  • Negotiation of domain name purchase agreements
  • Issuance of intellectual property legal advice in case of domain name disputes (pursuant to the ICANN Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy - UDRP)
  • Legal representation in ordinary courts and arbitration courts (WIPO, ADR)

    • What is Domain ?

    A domain name has a number of components. For example, this domain name: “www.address.com.cn” has the following components：

    • "www" indicates that it is a worldwide web address
    • "address" is the domain name that will be registered
    • "com" is called a top level domain name, and indicates the category of domain name to be registered
    • "cn" indicates the country of origin (also known as a country code top-level domain), namely Mainland China in this example.

    Other top level domain names include:

    • "biz" indicates a business
    • 'edu" indicates an educational institution
    • "gov" indicates a government department
    • "org" indicates a non-profit organization

    In Hong Kong it is not unusual for a domain name to be registered without any top level domain name. In that case, the domain name could be registered as: www.address.hk

    Nonetheless, is it not necessary for every domain name to indicate the country of origin. Domain names that originate in the United States do not have a country of origin component in the domain name. Stated differently, a domain name can be registered even without any indication of the country of origin.