By Daniela Noyola
Companies use different digital platforms to attract consumers’ attention to offer their products and services. These media are web pages and e-mails that are identified through denominations better known as domain names.
Domain names facilitate the search on internet platforms since in most cases these are formed by the names of companies or enterprises, obtaining greater growth in their business thanks to the increase of traffic on their platforms. Due to the competition between companies dedicated to the same field, it is important to protect these names to avoid confusion among consumers, therefore we will explain the process that must be carried out in El Salvador to obtain their registrations starting from 3 fundamental questions.
Domain names are internet addresses that serve to identify emails and websites, such as latinalliance.co, allowing you to easily find the platform you want to access. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, within the classification of domain names, there are top-level domain names, which are known as those internet addresses ending with “.com”, “.net”, “.org”; and on the other hand, there are top-level domain names corresponding to country codes, which are known as those internet addresses ending with the abbreviation of each country, such as “.sv”.
About the geographic top-level domain names, it is important to mention that it is up to the authorities of each country to carry out a domain name registration process through an institution to guarantee security and exclusivity of use for the applicant. In our country, the institution in charge to manage this type of domain name is SVNET.
Which requirements are necessary to register domain names?
As we mentioned before, domain names are classified into different types and consequently, there are different administrators where domain name registration can be applied to prevent a third person from using it. In the case of geographic domain names, in our country, it is only necessary to submit the form with the owner and administrative contact information, as well as the proof of payment corresponding to the fee for the number of years registered.
However, before filing the application it is important to perform a search of the domain name to be reserved to make sure that it is not registered in the name of another owner. Currently, it is possible to register two domain names, which are “.com.sv” which is considered third level, and “.sv” as the second level, in both cases the official fee is different as well as its validity, which can be from 1 to 5 years, for its renewal.
Is there any relation between domain names and commercial distinctive marks?
Even though it is true that domain names, as well as commercial signs, are creations, their registration protection is different, because signs protect products, services, establishments, and consumer activities, while domain names have as their main function to identify Internet addresses. Similarly, the procedure is carried out before different Institutions, so there is no relationship between them. In other words, if there is a trademark registered or in the process of registration that conforms or denominates the same or like a domain name, it is not subject to rejection.
It is also important to know that although it is true that domain names cover Internet addresses, this doesn’t mean that it also protects a website, since a platform or software is requested as a work deposit because it is in the artistic or literary category. In this sense, it is reaffirmed that the registry of one does not depend on the other for its protection.