What is a dotBrand?

 

Online scams are on the rise. The FBI’s Internet Crime Center reports that losses related to online scams reached an annual value of $16.6 billion, up by 33% from the previous year.

 

Consumers are not the only group susceptible to online scams. In fact, brands can also fall victim to an abundance of malicious schemes currently circulating the internet. Impersonation, phishing attempts, fakeshops, typosquatting, and cybersquatting are just a few examples of the dangers brands face online. No wonder that the need for comprehensive online brand protection measures is rising.

 

While not strictly a part of such measures, dotBrands are certainly an intriguing addition to the world of online brand protection, which is why we decided to take a look and evaluate the dotBrand phenomenon for you.

 

 

dotBrands explained

A dotBrand is a TLD (top-level domain) where, instead of the well-known .com, .de, .net, etc., your brand name follows the last dot in your URL. So, for example, Microsoft uses .microsoft, Toyota has .toyota, or KPMG features - you guessed it - .kpmg.

 

 

Screenshot of the homepage of global.toyota/en

 

 

dotBrands were launched back in 2012 when ICANN introduced ngTLDs. However, since there has been only one opportunity to apply for these in 2012, only 664 applications for dotBrands have been submitted so far, which amounts to 34% of all ngTLD requests.

 

Find out all about TLDs, ngTLDs, and the rest!

 

Luckily, that is about to change. ICANN is opening the second round for ngTLD applications, including dotBrands, which is expected to start in April 2026. Preparations are well on the way, so if you’re interested in obtaining a dotBrand, or any other type of ngTLD, now is the time to take action.

 

| ICANN is opening the second round for ngTLD applications in April 2026

 

While the application process is not simple, ICANN itself offers an Applicant Guidebook and an Applicant Support Program to help interested parties get ready for the application. If you don’t have a whole lot of time on your hands to do this yourself, you can opt to work with a service provider that takes care of the process and prepares your application documents for you.

 

 

The impact of dotBrands on brands and brand protection

Using a dotBrand provides your company with several advantages across different fields.

 

 

Enhanced security and trust

If you employ a dotBrand, your customers can be sure that they indeed landed on your genuine, trustworthy website. This secure and branded online environment reduces the risk of impersonation and phishing attempts. Emails arriving from your dotBrand domain are authentic beyond a doubt and create trust amongst your customers.

 

 

Brand exclusivity and control

Since you own the entire namespace, you can prevent third parties, including fraudsters, from creating similar domains to confuse your customers. This also gives you greater control over digital campaigns and premium domains within the namespace.

 

 

Marketing and customer engagement

A dotBrand provides you with a unique opportunity to create a consistent online space and messaging for your brand. Your customers can enjoy simplified and intuitive navigation, with periodic additions like ‘promotions.brand’ easy to understand and follow. This, in turn, enhances their user experience and allows you to run more effective marketing campaigns.

 

 

Challenges

Despite the many advantages, dotBrand domains have their internal challenges. The most prominent of these is the difficult, resource-intensive, and limited application process. Not to mention the fact that if you miss the current window, it’s possible that the next one won’t open for another decade.

 

 

dotBrand as a defense against impersonation, fakeshops, and phishing

While the above advantages are significant, we especially appreciate the enhanced brand protection features offered by dotBrand.

 

 

Impersonation and fakeshops

The lengthy application process ensures that only verified entities can register a dotBrand, which automatically eliminates the risk of impersonators or fakeshops mimicking your domain. Let’s see an example.

 

IKEA’s main domain is ikea.com. Fraudsters can try to mimic it by registering ikea.shop, ikea.business, or any other domain not already taken but similar enough to IKEA’s main domain to dupe customers. On the other hand, if IKEA used a dotBrand TLD, nobody could register any website ending in .ikea but the company itself. This way, customers could be sure that they landed on IKEA’s trusted, genuine site and not a fakeshop.

 

Find out how to identify a fakeshop!

 

 

Phishing protection

As all official communication originates from the dotBrand domain, all customers need to do is check the last digits of the sender’s email address. If it corresponds to your brand name, the email is genuine. This is an invaluable asset when fraudsters are getting increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to mimic a company’s email address and communication style.

 

dotBrand emails are not only helpful for consumers but also for businesses vulnerable to several phishing scams, like CEO fraud.

 

Customers of financial institutions are at the forefront of phishing attacks. This is why it’s extremely important for banks to properly identify their official channels. French financial institution BNP Paribas Fortis registered a dotBrand to ensure that its customers always know which websites and messages are authentic.

 

 

Screenshot of the homepage of mabanque.bnpparibas

 

 

Related topics

How to identify a fake webshop

 

The 10 most and least popular TLDs 

 

Domain takeaway powered by Lieferando

 

Counterfeit education on brand websites

 

 

The ongoing threat: cybersquatting and typosquatting

Two of the most prevalent threats our clients face with regard to registering domains are cybersquatting and typosquatting. While the goal of both these threats is to convince consumers they’ve landed on your brand’s genuine website and/or to sell the domains to you for a highly inflated price, they have a significant difference.

 

Cybersquatters register domains with your trademarked brand/product name but a different TLD. These can be anything from country-specific TLDs to less-used gTLDs or ngTLDs.

 

Typosquatters, on the other hand, go for registering commonly misspelled versions of your trademarked brand or product names with any TLDs, potentially even the one your genuine website uses.

 

Both of these scams pose significant risks for your brand. These sites divert traffic from your real website, luring customers to sell them counterfeit products and/or steal their sensitive data. Your company suffers brand dilution, a loss of revenue and customer trust, not to mention the severe reputational damage that arises out of these attacks.

 

dotBrand TLDs significantly reduce these risks. Since only sites ending in your brand name are legitimate, there’s no point in cybersquatting on any other domains. Similarly, as only you can add subsites to your dotBrand domain, no third parties can register misspelled versions in your namespace.

 

However, bear in mind that with many other issues, customer education is key here as well. Spread the news widely that you’re using a dotBrand domain; otherwise, your customers won’t know what to look for when trying to determine the authenticity of a message. This is especially important as typosquatting can still lead consumers to fake websites and cause devastating consequences.

 

 

Additional solutions for comprehensive brand protection

Although dotBrands are a promising solution to keep your namespace safe, it doesn’t mean that dotBrand owners can just sit back and relax. In fact, scammers are known to find devious ways to lure people into their traps, which is why it’s important that you do everything in your power to protect your IP rights and your customers. Here are a few tips on how to do that.

 

 

Domain monitoring

Periodically checking the internet to see who does what with your trademarked brand and product names is the best way to nip small problems in the bud before they become big problems. Our domain monitoring service is perfect for this task.

 

We detect already existing and newly registered domains that contain your trademarked phrases, including any misspelled versions of them. With automated monitoring, you can rest assured that no fraudulent registration will escape our notice.

 

 

Legal and procedural measures

If you want a solid and uncontestable legal basis for your IP rights, it’s always best to register your trademarks in your key markets.

 

Proper security measures are essential to prevent infiltration and impersonation. Make sure that all your domains have SSL certificates and implement secure email practices to limit the possibilities of fraud.

 

ICANN has a set of rules called the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) to resolve any disputes surrounding domain registrations. In case of any issues, adhering to these rules will help you to reach a satisfactory resolution as soon as possible.

 

However, court procedures usually take a long time. If you need the harmful infringement to stop right away, domain takedowns are imperative. globaleyez has a versatile set of measures, including takedowns, blockdowns, and even the blocking of payment options in fakeshops to ensure the fastest response to the issue you’re facing.

 

 

Proactive domain management

Considering that fraudsters can set up shop just a typo or TLD away from your genuine domain, it’s important to manage that danger proactively.

 

If you register domains with alternate spellings, common typos, or nicknames of your brand/product, as well as the most popular TLDs, you can save yourself a lot of headaches in the future. After all, if you own all these, scammers will have a harder time getting to your customers.

 

 

Conclusion

Although not easy to register, dotBrand domains are advantageous for your brand image, marketing campaigns, and even your IP rights. Consider whether it would make sense for your brand to switch to a dotBrand domain in the next registration round!

 

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns about the safety of your IP rights.