Unstoppable Domains joins GlobalBlock

Unstoppable Domains have joined GlobalBlock to help protect brands across blockchain domains.

GlobalBlock is a service launched by the Brand Safety Alliance that helps businesses protect their brand across multiple extensions at the registry level in a centralised manner.

Domain name blocking was built for traditional domain names to prevent malicious actors from using these names for fraudulent purposes, such as brand impersonation, copyright infringement, or IP hijacking. These capabilities are now also available across all Unstoppable Domains’ 20 web extensions and partner extensions, including but not limited to .nft, .crypto, .x, .dao, .888, .polygon, .blockchain, .kresus, .klever, .hi, .anime, and .manga.

Tony Kirsch, Brand Safety Alliance Commercial Director, remarked, “By integrating Unstoppable Domains into the GlobalBlock service, we’re not only expanding our protective measures to the forefront of technology but also offering a broader solution to help protect brand owners online.” 

Brands need to be proactive to protect themselves

We had a look at the .x extensions available for some of the world’s biggest brands and while most of them were protected some of the lesser known brands (but still big) were still available to purchase. We reached out to Unstoppable Domains to ask what more brands can do to protect themselves and specifically about an unprotected brand we found.

Sandy Carter, COO and Head of Business Development at Unstoppable Domains told Tech Radar Pro: “Firstly, there are two methods of protecting domains. The first is through the Global Blocking program, which companies can apply for. This program effectively blocks a company’s IP across hundreds of TLDs in both the web2 and web3 spaces. Additionally, at Unstoppable, we proactively protect numerous notable brands, trademarked terms, and the names of prominent individuals. Furthermore, we block the names of companies that directly approach us. However, it’s essential to note that while we can block our domains, we here at Unstoppable cannot block .eth or .com domains.

Regarding [redacted], they haven’t registered for global blocking or reached out to us to protect their name. Despite being a significant brand worthy of protection, some cases slip through because companies haven’t applied for global blocking or approached us directly to safeguard their name. Although we strive to protect large brands pre-emptively, occasional oversights occur in cases where companies haven’t engaged with us for protection. We have now added protection to ‘[redacted]’, however this is only for Unstoppable Domains.”

It’s great that companies like Unstoppable Domains are trying to protect brands but there are an increasing number of extensions across traditional domains and blockchain domains so unless brands are proactive they may find themselves having less control over their name.

In an article published in LexisNexis, intellectual property team associate, Dominic Walsh, wrote: “Brands should consider looking into purchasing blockchain domains from a defensive perspective. It is likely to be cheaper in the long run to acquire these domains now, rather than to purchase them from third parties in the future.”

Registering with GlobalBlock is not free and neither is purchasing more domains. The partnership between Unstoppable Domains and GlobalBlock is welcome but it still leaves brands needing to proactively protect themselves in this new space and at a cost.

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James Capell

April 8, 2024 3:31 pm