| Studies & Opinions
Domainers,
IP Strategists Partnership
Alex Tajirian
November 10, 2007
Introduction
Domain name owners have been trying to convince
the wrong people regarding the value-adding roles of domain names.
Instead of focusing on advertising agencies and companies, domainers
need to partner with IP strategists. There are two reasons:
1.
Businesses
are “flying blind when it comes to managing their IP,”[1] and the same is true of
their domain name strategies. If companies still don’t understand
the benefits of an IP strategy—for patents, trademarks, copyrights,
and design—they probably can’t appreciate and manage the benefits
of domain names.
2.
Studies suggest
that one of the success factors for IP strategy is genuine involvement
by top-level corporate management in IP-related projects and discussions.[2]
If IP strategists need access to such executives, so do domainers.
Thus, domainers too need to engage such executives.
Domain-Name
IP Strategies
Domain-name
IP management includes two distinct strategies: a vigorous safeguarding
against value-destroying infringements, and the adoption of a new
IP-protection regime based on a cooperative IP relationship through
monetization service providers.[3]
The arrangement is analogous to IP leasing. Companies with a large
portfolio of patents grant other companies permission to use some
of them for free, but at the same time the patent holders aggressively
protect their strategic IP.
Why Should
IP Strategists Care About Domain Names?
1.
They can
make their expertise valuable to an expanding, value-adding market,
that of domain names.
2.
Including
domain names as a new intangible-asset class enhances the IP strategists’
value proposition to companies.
What’s in
It for Domain Owners?
The
approach:
1.
Provides
immediate access to top-level executives at some major companies.
2.
Makes it
cheaper to find the right business for a given domain name.
3.
Increases
awareness and credibility of domain names as a valuable intangible
asset that needs to be protected and used.
4.
Makes it
easier to engage ad agencies, with domain names being used as marketing
instruments through ads on parking sites and mini–Web sites, and
through leasing.
[1] Vinit Bhatia and Gib Carey, “Patenting for Profits,”
MIT Sloan Management Review (Summer 2007): 15-16.
[2] Markus Reitzig, “How Executives Can Enhance IP Strategy
and Performance,” MIT Sloan Management Review (Fall 2007):
37-43.
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