Trademark Clearinghouse

Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) is a gTLD mechanism for the protection of trademark rights – the TMCH Service provided by InterNetX actively supports you with the protection of your trademark.

Trademark protection in Sunrise

The TMCH Service provided by InterNetX takes over the tasks of checking and transferring all trademark data to the TMCH database, thereby facilitating the online protection of your trademark rights under almost all gTLDs.

Your advantages:

  • Easy processing: competent service in two languages. We deliver a user-friendly web interface, competent support and clear information in German and English.
  • More for your money: 50 % label bonus. Up to 20 labels for the price of 10 per trademark entry and period.
  • Lower costs: We check your data to help prevent unnecessary costs.

Book TMCH Service

With the TMCH Agent Service, InterNetX provides you with several extras regarding performance, service and support. Due to the centralized storage of data, time-consuming individual validations for each Sunrise phase are no longer necessary. 
The use of the TMCH Service includes the following features:

  • Attach up to 20 labels per trademark and period at the price of 10
  • Sunrise Services
  • Abused DNL Service
  • Transfer of existing TMCH entries to InterNetX
  • Trademark Claims Services / Extended Claims Service – now also available for the TLDs .com, .net, .cat, .coop, .jobs, .mobi, .museum, .pro, .tel, .travel, .xxx
Comparative overview of services InterNetX
TMCH Service		Standard
TMCH Service
Take part in all new gTLD phases
With a record in the TMCH data base, you can participate in all sunrise phases of new gTLDs without needing to provide further evidence.
Trademark Claims Service / Extended Claims Service
If this service is activated, trademark holders can receive a Notification of Registered Name (NORN) from the TMCH provider, with information about registrations that may be relevant to the trademark.
Abused DNL Service
Trademark holders can submit up to 50 labels that have previously been abused and for which they have already prevailed in court and/or via a UDRP case
More labels
Per trademark and period, the submission of up to 20 labels (additional variations of the trademark) are included instead of only 10 labels (according to the technical requirements of the TMCH provider).
Transfer of existing TMCH entries
Already existing TMCH entries can easily be transferred to InterNetX; the booked contract period will be taken over without extra costs, only a transfer fee will apply. 
Sunrise company strategy
Our experienced service team will support you and your company with your strategy and planning regarding gTLDs and (pre-) registrations.
TMCH, preregistration, domain management - all via AutoDNS
Ready for new gTLDs - login once to comfortably carry out all relevant domain processes concerning new gTLDs
Preliminary check of submitted data
InterNetX checks the provided information before forwarding it to the Trademark Clearinghouse - this saves unnecessary effort and can prevent extra costs.
Automatic renew and end of registration term
When the registration term for a trademark entry is about to terminate, it will automatically be renewed - so you don't miss any deadlines, trademarks will remain protected
Proof-of-Use Alarm
When you enter the data and select the service in the web interface, we will inform you whether Proof of Use is required and provide you with advice and assistance.
Confirmation button
You have full control of costs and orders, also for sub-users.
Invoice for trademark entries
We deliver detailed invoices with a breakdown for each trademark entry.
Flexible payment methods
You can make use of a range of payment options with various currencies.
Multilingual support
We support you in all enquiries about the TMCH service - by phone and by email, in German and English. 
Manuals (quick guides) and additional information
Edited documentation, manuals, FAQs in German and English - white label versions also available

You have the possibility to participate in all new gTLD Sunrise phases for one, three or five years with your validated trademark or your SMD file. You will also be informed about registrations concerning your trademark rights in the General Availability of a new gTLD via the Trademark Claims Service. The Trademark Clearinghouse Guidelines apply when using the TMCH services. You can download these here.

Download TMCH Guidelines

General information about TMCH Service

Trademark Clearinghouse was installed as a validation and protection mechanism to protect trademarks during the introductions of new gTLDs. It has two functions: To authenticate contact details and verify trademark entries, as well as to store the trademark data in a central database.

ICANN has commissioned Deloitte to carry out the verification service. Deloitte verifies that the submitted trademark data is correct and checks that the data meets the TMCH requirements. There is no legal consultation.

Technical processing is undertaken in cooperation with IBM.

When using the Trademark Clearinghouse service, trademarks are protected in two ways:

1.) Secure participation in new gTLD Sunrise phases
All new registries must offer a "Sunrise Phase" during the introduction of a new "open" gTLD in order to protect the rights of trademark holders. In this phase, trademark holders – depending on the guidelines of the respective registries – can register their trademark domains before anyone else. However, the trademark data must be verified first. This is done by saving all relevant trademark data in the TMCH. Once the data has been saved successfully, the trademark holder can take part in all new gTLD Sunrise phases and thereby protect his trademark rights.

2.) Protection with the Trademark Claims Service
In the Live phases, domain registration generally runs on a first-come, first-served basis and is open to anyone who meets the respective registration requirements of the relevant TLD. If an interested party wants to register a domain that matches a trademark, he receives a "Trademark Claims Notice", with the information that the registration may infringe the trademark rights of a third party. Should the interested party select to carry out the registration, the relevant trademark holder specified in the TMCH receives a "Notification of Registered Name" (NORN) and can therefore react appropriately. After this, the Extended Claim Service takes effect.

Trademark holders and their representatives (e.g. license holders or authorized agents) can submit trademarks to the Trademark Clearinghouse and use the service to protect their trademarks during the introduction of new gTLDs.

The services of TMCH Agent is provided for companies, resellers and professional users.

The Trademark Claims Service is a notification system that informs trademark holders and interested parties wishing to register trademark domains about the potential infringement of trademark rights.

In General Availability, domain registration runs in general on a first-come, first-served basis and is open to anyone who meets the respective registration requirements of the relevant TLD. If an interested party wants to register a domain that matches a trademark stored in the TMCH during the first 90 days in this phase, he receives a "Trademark Claims Notice", with the information that the registration may infringe the trademark rights of a third party. Should the interested party select to carry out the registration, the relevant trademark holder specified in the TMCH receives a "Notification of Registered Name" (NORN) and can therefore react appropriately.

Parties who wish to register a trademark domain stored in the TMCH during the first 90 days of a new gTLD General Availability receive a warning about potential trademark infringement.

If the interested party selects to register the relevant domain despite the warning, the affected trademark holder specified in the TMCH receives a "Notification of Registered Name" (NORN). The trademark holder is therefore informed and can react appropriately.

If the interested party decides to forgo the registration after being warned, the trademark holder does not receive a NORN.

The service informs trademark owners about all domain registrations that might infringe his trademark rights. The service will automatically be activated when using the Trademark Claims Service.

n addition to the trademark name, so-called labels can also be stored in the Trademark Clearinghouse. These are variations of the trademark name that are generated automatically by the Trademark Clearinghouse and can not be selected individually by the trademark owner. Generally up to 10 labels can be stored in the Trademark Clearinghouse for free. At TMCH Agent, up to 20 labels are included free-of-charge.

For the trademark "Fisher & Son", for example, the following labels would be possible:

  • fisher-son
  • fisher--son
  • fisherandson
  • fisherand-son
  • fisher---son
  • fisher-andson
  • fisher-and-son

The Trademark Clearinghouse follows two rules in this regard:

  • Special characters that can not be included in domain names, e.g. asterisk, are either eliminated or replaced by a dash (hyphen).
  • The special character "&" is replaced by the word "and" in the respective language for the court of jurisdiction of the trademark name.

After being checked and verified, the data is stored in the Tradermark Clearinghouse. The trademark data automatically undergoes annual validation to ensure that the entries in the Trademark Clearinghouse are kept up-to-date.

All new gTLD registries can access data in the Trademark Clearinghouse directly for the introduction of new TLDs. This enables easy participation in new gTLD Sunrise phases and notifications via the Trademark Claims Service.

The Abused DNL Service (also +50) is an additional Trademark Claims service that helps trademark holders protect labels that have previously been abused and for which they have already prevailed in court or UDRP dispute (Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy). Subject to a fee, up to 50 officially confirmed labels can be submitted to the Trademark Clearinghouse. The Trademark Claims Service can be used for these.

Please note: These labels are not included in the SMD file and can therefore NOT be used for the Sunrise Service.

Subject to a fee, you can specify up to 50 labels (hence +50). However, these can not be selected at will - each label must explicitly be named in the relevant UDRP case or court decision.

Specific information is requested by the Trademark Clearinghouse, regardless of whether the label in question is related to a UDRP case or national court decision. The following information must be submitted to TMCH Agent:

For UDRP cases:

  • Name of the UDRP provider
  • Case reference number
  • Language in which the UDRP case was dealt with
  • List of the abused labels

For court decisions:

  • Name of the court
  • Court reference number
  • Language in which the court decision was made
  • Copy of court decision
  • List of the abused labels

Formal questions

The following types of trademarks can be submitted to the Trademark Clearinghouse:

  • Registered trademarks that hold national or multinational validity
  • Trademarks validated by court (according to customary rights, civil law) 
  • Trademarks that are protected by a statute or treaty (e.g. geographic designation, designation of origin)

Trademarks that contain any one of the following criteria cannot be submitted to TMCH:

  • Trademark applications
  • Trademarks that have been repealed or deleted
  • International trademarks applied for via the Madrid System (unless the trademark registration has been recognized nationally)
  • Trademarks that contain a domain ending, e.g. "tmch-agent.com"
  • Trademarks that contain a full stop i.e. period
  • Trademarks consisting of mixed characters, i.e. consisting of ASCII and IDNs
  • Image trademarks, i.e. trademarks that do not contain at least one legible character

If you would like to use the Sunrise service for registered trademarks (except those decided by court validation or treaty), you must provide evidence in two regards to confirm your right to use the trademarks:

Proof of Use - Declaration of Use
The Declaration of Use must be filled in, signed and sent to your TMCH Agent.

Proof of Use - Single Sample of Use
ONE digital instance of proof that the trademark is in use must be provided. The following forms of evidence are permitted for this:

  • Labels, stickers, tags, packaging material
  • Marketing material (brochure, flyer, catalogue, press release, screenshots of the website, leaflet etc.)
  • Manual or instructions i.e. product information

Please note:

  • The evidence must display the trademark completely, as validated in the Trademark Clearinghouse. Do not use abbreviations or internally used terms for the respective trademarks.
  • The evidence must enable a consumer to clearly distinguish the trademark from other offers or trademarks on the market with regard to the product or service.

The following evidence is not accepted:

  • Domain names that contain the trademark string
  • Email addresses
  • Links or URLs to a website
  • Business cards

No, the trademark must be submitted to the TMCH in the exact form as registered at the trademark office i.e. in the same form as defined on the trademark certificate.

All documents must be submitted to InterNetX in electronic form. Documents will not be accepted by TMCH in paper form. Evidence may only be transmitted in PDF or JPG format and can be uploaded via AutoDNS. The maximum size per document is 10 MB.

For validation in the Trademark Clearinghouse, one of the countries in which the trademark is valid must be selected. The possible labels i.e. the description of special characters is dependent on the country of origin and relevant language.

No, this must be carried out separately. However, the submission of trademark data to the Trademark Clearinghouse including Sunrise service is required in order to participate in the Sunrise phases of all new gTLDs.

No, trademark domains in the upcoming Sunrise phases do not have to be ordered from TMCH Agent, even if the trademark was validated via TMCH Agent. The TMCH Service and domain registrations are separate services. However, customers may naturally use both services (trademark validation and domain registration) if they wish.

This depends on several factors.

No, the SMD file is created following a time lag.

Costs

The TMCH service can be booked for periods of one, three or five years.

Up to 20 domain labels are included. You will find a pricelist in the attachment of the user contract. To receive a contract, please get in touch with the sales team at tmchnoSpam@tmch-agent.com or request it directly in AutoDNS. In order to see this, you can create a free account here.

*All offers and prices are valid for business customers only and exclude legal VAT.

The Extended Trademark-Claims Service will automatically be activated for free when using the Trademark Claims Service.

The first 20 labels are included in the price for the TMCH Service. Additional costs will apply for each extra label according to the duration of the booked contract term (1, 3, or 5 years).

When transferring TMCH entries to TMCH Agent via the SMD file, a transfer fee will apply. The existing contract period will be taken over without extra costs. All prices are available in AutoDNS. You can create a free account here.

No, domain registrations are not included in the TMCH Service price. This price only covers the deposit of the trademark data at Trademark Clearinghouse and the related services. If a trademark owner wants to register domains during sunrise periods, extra costs for the registration will apply. 

Free callback service for you

Our experts will call you at the chosen time and help you with any questions you may have.

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TMCH Agent Service

We take over the transmission of trademark data to the TMCH database for you.
Write to us: tmchnoSpam@tmch-agent.com

Any questions?

Get in touch with our domain sales team!
Mon - Fri, 9:00 a.m. - 17:30 p.m. (CET)

+49 941 59559-559