Marks protected by statute or treaty

For marks protected by statute or treaty, the relevant statute or treaty must be in effect at the
time the mark is submitted to the Clearinghouse for inclusion. These marks may include but
are not limited to geographical indications and designations of origin.

Download the complete Clearinghouse guidelines to check which information and documentary evidence you need to include.


The following marks are not considered marks protected by statute or treaty and will not be
eligible for inclusion in the Clearinghouse:

  • Trademark applications or applications for protection of a mark;
  • Well-known or famous trademarks, unless also protected by a statue or treaty;
  • US state trademarks;
  • International trademark applications made via the Madrid system
  • Registered trademarks that were subject to successful invalidation, cancellation, opposition or rectification proceedings;

The following are not considered marks protected by statute or treaty but might be eligible for inclusion in the Clearinghouse under another type of trademark:

Note that, for purposes of sunrise eligibility, a mark must be specifically protected by a statute
or treaty currently in effect and that was in effect on or before 26 June 2008.

The following will not be accepted by the Clearinghouse, even if protected by statute or treaty:

  • Any mark protected under statute or treaty that includes a top level extension such as “icann.org” or “.icann” as a mark;
  • Any mark protected under statute or treaty starting with or containing a “dot” (.) (e.g., the mark “deloitte.” will not be accepted);
  • Any mark protected under statute or treaty that does not contain any letters, words, numerals, or DNS-valid characters; and
  • Any mark protected under stature or treaty of which the statute or treaty is only applicable to a certain region, city or state.