dotBrand (.brand) – Owning your own branded Top-Level Domain

This article was originally published on the Zacco LinkedIn account on 18/06/2025

A dotBrand (.brand) domain offers many advantages beyond the global standard .com, but what does it take to own a domain intrinsically linked to your own trademark or brand name, and what should you know before taking the leap into branded TLD ownership?

Early 2026 offers the first opportunity in over a decade to register a TLD directly linked to your brand’s trademark. 2012 saw the registration of many major brand names such as .bmw, .microsoft or .dell, providing their respective trademark owners with exclusivity and authenticity, as well as complete control over how the domain is used.

Why should you consider a dotBrand TLD?

Owning a dotBrand TLD means that no one else can register anything under it, providing complete control over subdomains. This means that there is no risk of cybersquatting or phishing scams posing as lookalike domains, and no more long and messy URLs. Authentication is built in, because the TLD tells any visitors that the site is legitimate, and it avoids brand dilution because you can direct people to simple user-friendly URLs such as shop.yourbrand or career.yourbrand.

dotBrand creates global consistency for your brand name, which can be particularly useful for international companies who are seeking to avoid or don’t meet the requirements for local domains such as .co.uk, .de or .cn, replacing them with uk.yourbrand for example. Aside from providing digital security for your brand’s reputation online, the dotBrand also futureproofs your identity as web technology evolves. By purchasing and maintaining a root zone TLD, you can use this same domain to manage all private or internal systems such as email, any new app of API addressing as new technologies emerge, and control of domains linked to any IOT connected device.

But that power also comes with responsibility…

There are obviously legal and IP based considerations for any company considering dotBrand registration, but there will be financial implications as well. Owners are required to establish and maintain infrastructure that will host their TLD and agree to comply with ICANN rules.

It’s important to align stakeholders from across your organisation because a successful application, and the resulting dotBrand, will require input and engagement from your legal, IP, IT/security and domain teams. Ownership involves a comprehensive evaluation, designed to maintain the security and resilience of the global internet. Only trademark holders may apply, so you will need to ensure your IP rights are registered, up to date and accessible and your legal teams will need to comply with comprehensive due diligence on your organisation, shareholders and officers. Similarly, your IT teams will need to create and maintain infrastructure required to host a TLD and your domain team will need to be able to establish the systems, certificates, and processes required to keep them online, accessible and secure.

The current ICANN fee for a dotBrand application is USD$227,000, plus any fees not yet announced and ongoing maintenance costs, so this is a significant investment. Having said that, the potential market value of one-word domains can run into the millions of dollars to purchase. Similarly, you should also weigh these potential costs against the investment required to maintain and enforce multiple domains, and instead being able to direct your audience to a single place.

What are my options, as a trademark owner, if I’m not ready to decide?

New gTLDs are still being launched from the previous round over a decade ago and, as a trademark owner, you are also able to apply to the Trademark Clearinghouse. This allows you to register matching domains, such as dotBrand TLDs, before they become publicly available and reduces the risk of domain squatting or brand dilution. It also notifies you of any applications linked to your trademark, giving you an opportunity to act, as well as warning that a trademark is registered, which can support your accusation of bad faith registration if it should come to that.

I’m in! How and where do I apply?

The requirements for the next round of dotBrand applications is expected to be published by December of 2025, with ICANN likely starting to accept them in late Q1 or early Q2 of 2026, but interested organisations have already started to lay the groundwork.

It’s important to explore and understand the implications of owning a dotBrand sooner rather than later, defining your budget, aligning stakeholders, and gathering the information necessary to develop a successful application.

How do I know if a dotBrand is right for me?

A dotBrand TLD effectively means that you own a piece of the backbone of the internet, and you can use it as you see fit, but that ownership also comes with responsibilities. For companies with a genuine operational need for it, dotBrand is a true gamechanger, cementing your brand’s position on the internet and securing your digital future in a way that few other online positions can match.

Zacco has the existing skills and expertise in-house to pull together the different stakeholders involved. Our cross-practice team can work directly with your IP, IT, Domain and Legal teams to ensure that organisational actions and goals are aligned, and that you have everything in place to put forward a dotBrand application that has the highest chances of success.

We are working directly with Tucows, the world’s third largest domain registrar, meaning that organisations can benefit from full gTLD ICANN compliant services on the most modern registry software, a comprehensive dotBrand TLD activation strategy, and real-time access to actionable insight on your domain.

This is a very strong strategic move, but it’s not right for all organisations, and if you’re a regional business or not ready for such a significant investment, then there are other ways to strengthen and protect your digital identity without going full dotBrand.

Reach out to Tobias Harhoff or Niclas Jonsson with some brief information on your existing digital strategy, your industry, and whether you’re currently facing any brand security issues, and we will come back to you with a quick assessment on whether dotBrand could be the right direction for you. If you then want to have a longer conversation, we’re happy to help.