Firm manages to get .secure trademark

Firm going following .bank and .secure domain names gets a (weak) trademark.

A firm hoping to offer .bank and .secure domain names has managed to get a trademark for .secure from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — albeit on the supplement register.

How did it do this, since the USPTO won’t grant trademarks on top level domains?

First, Asif LLC didn’t tell the USPTO the trademark was for a top level domain name. Instead, it states it’s for “Domain name registration services”.

Second, it submitted proof of use in commerce that was nothing more than a Go Daddy/Wild West Domains reseller page.

The firm has also applied for a trademark for .bank using the same field of use and a GoDaddy reseller web site as proof of us. It is still pending.

The .secure registration number is 4068800.

[update: as Karen Bernstein points out, VeriSign filed to potentially oppose the application, but filed at the incorrect time. I don’t see an opposition to .bank.]