We all know Social Media is taking over online and we know the usual suspects There is a wave coming behind that gaining momentum even more quickly and then behind that there is another wave of new players and niche players. It can seem overwhelming and just like websites in the mid 90s something some folks would like to ignore but as we learned then that would be a mistake

That would be a mistake because Social Media is already mainstream This final point is probably the most important to Trademark Professional because Social Media has now reached the tipping point

So if you put all the pieces together its very clear that when compared to Domain Names Usernames are gaining parity as the Internet’s

So this creates some now complications and issues for trademark professionals. T

When compared to Domain Names what thi

Finally everything old is new. The issues for usernames are the same issues you always face with trademarks

Learn from the past

It makes sense to be proactive…. Protecting yourself is simple and costs next to nothing when compared to doing nothing now and dealing with it downstream.

It could also be a mistake delegating to others. We learned these lessons with Domain Names as well

At the end of the day you need to look at the pros and the cons for your businesses and clients

11/26/2010 Copyright 2010 TM.Biz Protecting Trademarks on Social Media

Topics Covered 11/26/2010 Copyright 2010 TM.Biz Current Situation in Social Media Complications for Trademark Owners Approaches to Protection

Social Media is Exploding 11/26/2010 Copyright 2010 TM.Biz You’ve heard of : 130 million 120 million 120 million 120 million 120 million But have you heard of…. 100 million …and the Thousands of “smaller” niche players with millions of members each 500 million 160 million 200 million

Social Media is Mainstream 11/26/2010 Copyright 2010 TM.Biz 60% of Internet users are members of Social Media Networks – PC Advisor Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the Web – NY Times More than 21% of cell phone users visit social media from their phones - Comscore Americans spend 25% of their time online on social networks - Nielsen 25% of search results for the World’s Top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content - Nielsen

Usernames are the Internet’s New Brand Identifiers 11/26/2010 Copyright 2010 TM.Biz Evolution Online for Trademark Professionals 200 million domain names (90M are .com) 2 billion usernames on top 20 social networks 25% of search results… are links to user generated content and this is growing

Complication – No Barriers to Obtain Usernames are: Free to obtain First come - first served Typically have profile pages Indexed by search engines Receive traffic and can be monetized Typically NOT Reused

Complication - No Protection Mechanisms Domain Names - Controlled Today UDRP (Uniform Domain Resolution Policy) WHOIS Anti-Cybersquatting In-Rem Sunrise periods Coming Soon Uniform Rapid Suspension Trademark Clearinghouse IP Claims Usernames – UNCONTROLLED Usernames are the Wild West when compared to Domain Names Today No Dispute Policy No Gatekeepers No Group Coming Soon Nothing Nothing Nothing

Complication - Everything Old is New Direct infringement Derogatory and defamatory speech Blatantly false information Impersonation of executives

Question What should I do to protect my Trademark’s Usernames in Social Media?

Apply the lessons from Domain Names 11/26/2010 Copyright 2010 TM.Biz Best Practice – Be Proactive & Not Reactive Reserve your trademarks and key executives as Usernames Identify infringement early

The Costs - Business Case 11/26/2010 Copyright 2010 TM.Biz Proactive – Reserve Now Package cost ~ $ 349 one time fee Trademark secured on 100 social networks Watch the rest Reactive - Do Nothing Assume 50 are taken Assume 10 are of concern Conduct Investigation Cost: $500 x 10 = $5000 Send takedown letters Cost: $500 x 10 = $5000 Sub-total cost: $10,000 50% success rate (5 of 10) Repeat as infractions occur Cost: $1,000/incident Example: Secure house brand in top 100 social networks

Avoid “I think we have people handling this” 11/26/2010 Copyright 2010 TM.Biz Best Practices Dictates this should be owned by Legal This is a trademark protection and enforcement issue How is it being managed? Who are keeping the records? Is it anonymous or public? Who is ensuring the accounts remain active? Domain Name Registrars are not in this business Marketing Departments - may address some issues (quick Free Search on TM.Biz and you’ll know)

Evaluate Benefits and Risks 11/26/2010 Copyright 2010 TM.Biz Proactive Avoid confusion Avoid loss of revenue Avoid embarrassment Avoid damage control Far less expensive than recovery/clean-up efforts Reactive Consumer confusion Loss of revenue Loss of reputation Legal fees Recovery may not be successful

11/26/2010 Copyright 2010 TM.Biz Reserve trademarks and key executives as usernames Include social media availability searches for all new name creation efforts Monitor for emerging social networks to avoid surprises Investigate “taken” usernames for trademark infringement TM.Biz Allows you to

Sign-Up Now 11/26/2010 Copyright 2010 TM.Biz 15 Eligible trademark professionals and brand managers can request a free account at: http://www.tm.biz There are no set-up fees or subscription fees Unlimited searching – you pay only for reports