Sedo Shortlisted For World Trademark Review Award

BOSTON, Mass. - Sedo, the world’s largest domain marketplace and monetization provider, today announced that for the second time in four years, it has been shortlisted for a World Trademark Review (WTR) Industry Award for the role its in-house legal department has played helping shape the rollout of hundreds of new domain extensions while educating brand owners on how to protect their trademarks.  The nomination, along with other recent and ongoing acknowledgements from organizations such as the Better Business Bureau, SXSW Interactive and numerous domain industry groups further solidify Sedo’s role as a trusted advisor among all parties – including business, technology, legal and domainer communities.

As the world’s largest marketplace for buying and selling domains, Sedo has played an active role educating about, and insuring a fair process for the introduction of new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) – the hundreds of new domain extensions that have started to join traditional ending such as .com, .net and .org this year.  Drawing from knowledge and experience gained from thirteen years in the domain industry, including its establishment of the industry’s first Rights Protection Program (RPP), the Sedo team has written numerous articles, participated in the development of related policies, spoken at events and directly helped brand owners and domain holders understand how to strategize as new gTLDs are introduced.  In addition, the team has been particularly vocal lobbying for balanced rights protection mechanisms such as the Uniform Rapid Suspension, which provides trademark owners with a quick and a low-cost process to take down websites infringing on their intellectual property rights, and the Trademark Clearinghouse, a central database of trademarks that makes it easier for brand owners to protect their marks across all new incoming gTLDs while providing potential registrants with reliable information on overlapping intellectual property rights.

Its leadership in the domain industry has earned Sedo an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, where it's been an accredited US organization since 2005. The company has also won numerous domain industry awards, and was selected for the third consecutive year to educate attendees about new domains at the SXSW Interactive festival, one of the tech industry's most celebrated annual events.

This sustained work on behalf all parties with a stake in the domain industry earned Sedo a nomination for this year’s WTR award and a place among the "short list" of teams to win in the Internet & Telecommunications Team of the Year category.

The WTR Industry Awards recognize the important work carried out by in-house trademark counsel, and identify teams and individuals that are performing their functions to the highest possible standards.  Winners of 2013 WTR Industry Awards include teams from companies such as Apple, Twitter, GlaxoSmithKline, Visa, IKEA and Jack Daniel’s Properties.  To select the winners, WTR conducts independent research based on the nominations provided by the global trademark community. Nearly 1,500 nominations were made for the 2014 awards.

“Being short listed for the WTR award alongside some of the world best corporate legal teams is a true honor, especially at a time of rapid change in the domain industry where some powerful business groups are unsure about the introduction of new TLDs,” said Tobias Flaitz, Sedo’s CEO. “This recognition really validates that we've accomplished one of our biggest missions - to maintain our role as the most trusted company in the domain industry.”

Winners of the WTR Industry Awards will be announced at a ceremony on May 13, 2014 in Hong Kong, coinciding with the International Trademark Association (INTA) annual meeting.

About Sedo

Sedo is the leading domain marketplace and monetization provider worldwide. Headquartered in Cologne, Germany and with offices in London, England and Boston, USA, Sedo has assembled the world’s largest database of domain names for sale with more than 18 million listings. The success of Sedo's model has attracted a client base of more than 2 million domain professionals in 180 countries worldwide. The company’s support team speaks 23 languages natively while its award-winning interactive marketplace seamlessly services client needs in six different languages. Sedo also has a full suite of services available for new gTLD applicants, including premium auctions in all application phases, marketing support, pricing, consulting and brokerage services to reach domain buyers globally. With more than 13 years of experience, Sedo is trusted by organizations and individuals around the globe as a neutral partner for buying, selling and parking domains.