{"id":10265,"date":"2021-08-11T10:54:23","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T14:54:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cscdbs.com\/blog\/?p=10265"},"modified":"2021-11-09T13:46:11","modified_gmt":"2021-11-09T18:46:11","slug":"to-block-or-not-to-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cscdbs.com\/blog\/to-block-or-not-to-block\/","title":{"rendered":"To Block or Not to Block?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Ewa Zane, CSC domain product manager
and Rachel Grotti, CSC global trainer
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Domain blocking mechanisms are an important element of an organization\u2019s defensive domain strategy. With the introduction of the New Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Program by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in 2013, brand owners were faced with a new challenge\u2014protecting their marks without overburdening their budgets. Defensive domain registrations were and still are an effective way in which a brand can protect itself in domain namespaces. A brand-owned domain name meant that domain name was out of the reach of third parties and therefore could not be used for phishing, distribution of malware, or destroying the brand relationships with its customers, investors, and vendors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, defensive registrations of brands across all of the available new gTLDs can be cost-prohibitive. Few corporations would actually register every product or service brand name and their variations in 1,000 new gTLDs. While defensive registrations are still an essential part of any corporate domain name strategy, domain blocks create a helpful alternative, as they allow brand owners to effectively block registration of their brand name across several buckets of new gTLDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is \u201cdomain blocking?\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Domain blocking is a top-level domain registry service that allows brand owners to block potential third-party registrations from other organizations or cybersquatters. The blocked domain registration would be the second-level string, for example, \u201cmybrand\u201d in \u201cmybrand.com.\u201d Domain blocking is an essential part of a defensive domain name strategy as it can give brand owners an authority over the blocked domain name\u2014almost to the same extent as being the registrant of the domain name, yet at a fraction of the total registration fee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History behind blocking programs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Blocking first started back in 2011 with the launch of .XXX TLD. The .XXX registry introduced a blocking program where trademark holders could block others from registering domain names containing their brands during their Sunrise B phase of the launch. Based on the nature of the TLD and its intended use, many trademark holders were happy to see this alternative option for defensive registrations, as many did not want to be associated with the adult entertainment industry. As the New gTLD Program gained momentum and new gTLDs came online, blocking came up again as a mechanism to help cope with the sudden expansion of the domain namespace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past 10 years, the blocking landscape has changed quite significantly. Multiple blocking mechanisms emerged and some disappeared over the years due to industry consolidations. Presently, domain blocks are offered by five new gTLD registries with coverage of their respective portfolio of new gTLDs. Together they form 33% of all new gTLDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So, block or not?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Each block is unique and can cover exact matches, variants, contained marks, misspellings, typos, homoglyphs, or internationalized domain names depending on the provider. Not every gTLD is covered by a domain block and no block is the same, so it\u2019s important to understand the landscape before making the right blocking decision for your brand. When making the decision on which brands to block consider the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n