People want trademarks for top level domains even though the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office won’t grant them.
As happened before the last round of top level domain name expansion, individuals and companies are tipping their hands on top level domain ideas through trademark filings.
Never mind that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office doesn’t grant trademarks for top level domains. People will still try to get a leg up on the competition.
A couple of weeks ago, Greg Reid of California filed an intent-to-use application for .prompt, stating a field of use of:
Domain name registration (legal services); domain name registration consultancy; internet domain name leasing; domain name registration for user identification in a global computer network; database licensing; trademark licensing; computer program licensing; software licensing and industrial property rights; technology licensing; software licensing consultancy; trademark monitoring (legal services); licensing services.
.Prompt is likely to be a contested string in the 2026 expansion round, given its importance in AI.
Earlier in the summer, Vayuna Voicetech Private Limited filed an intent-to-use application for .onn, also citing domain registration services in its fields of use.
Most of the “top level domain” trademark applications in recent years have been related to blockchain-based naming platforms, but these two seem more likely to be for real top level domains.
Source: https://domainnamewire.com/
