FIR Interview: Howard Greenstein and David Mitnick of domainSkate

FIR InterviewsHundreds of new top-level domains are being released by ICANN, the international organization that oversees Internet names and numbers. New domains like .guru, .london, .photography and .sexy are now available. And while companies aren’t exactly falling over themselves to pay the fee to register their trademarks and brands, other entities are reserving and registering domains—and they could be registering trademarked names.

According to a February Adweek story:

According to data from the Trademark Clearinghouse released Friday, unknown entities have prereserved their interest in registering domain names for every one of the nation’s 50 most valuable brands, as compiled by brand consultancy Interbrand. Research found that brands in the food and beverage space have left themselves most vulnerable with domains like pepsi.us, kfc.in, and kelloggs.net in the control of entities not affiliated with the brands.

domainSkateHoward Greenstein—one of the co-founders of The Social Media Club—and attorney David Mitnick have just launched domainSkate, certified by the Trademark Clearninghouse to helpcompanies protect their brands and trademarks in the world of New global Top Level Domains (New gTLDs).

In this FIR interview, co-hosts Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson talk with David (the CEO) and Howard (the COO) about the need for reputation protection (including some cases of infringement that have already occurred), how domainSkate works, and how the launch of the business is going.

Get this podcast:

About our Conversation Partners

David MitnickDavid K. Mitnick is the Founder and President of DomainSkate, LLC, an Internet company that focuses on online brand protection. Mitnick created DomainSkate when he saw the potential in the expansion of the global Top Level Domain space. He also shares his expertise in the area of Internet Domain Law, having written for, or been quoted in, CircleID, Mashable, VentureBeat, Inc. and Digiday.

Prior to starting DomainSkate, David spent ten (10) years as an intellectual property lawyer with Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP in New York, working in all phases of intellectual property law including trademark licensing and prosecution, patent and copyright litigation and Internet law. Previously, David worked as a Finance Associate at the Sanwa Bank in the International and Project Finance Groups. He serves as the Advisory Board Chairman of the Brooklyn Law School Trade Secrets Institute.

An avid hockey fan and player, David is a volunteer coach for Ice Hockey in Harlem in the wintertime. Mitnick earned his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.

Connect with David on Twitter at @domainSkate

Howard GreensteinHoward Greenstein has a deep understanding of both the technology and marketing worlds, and sits at their intersection. He has worked with clients from small businesses to the Fortune 500, Cable Networks, and Wall Street, as well as major non-profits and advocacy groups, helping them create their online presences. Greenstein also teaches social media in the Masters Program at the Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising at NYU SCPS. He is currently contributing editor for Inc. Magazine, writing the weekly Startup Toolkit. He has been on the board of directors of Social Media Club and is currently president of the NYC Chapter. Howard earned a B.S. from Cornell University, and a MPS from NYU’s world-renowned Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP).

Connect with Howard on Twitter at @HowardGr

FIR Community on Google+Share your comments or questions about this podcast, or suggestions for future podcasts, in the online FIR Podcast Community on Google+.

You can also send us instant voicemail via SpeakPipe, right from the FIR website. Or, call the Comment Line at +1 415 895 2971 (North America), +44 20 3239 9082 (Europe), or Skype: fircomments. You can tweet us: @FIRpodcast. And you can email us at fircomments@gmail.com. If you wish, you can email your comments, questions and suggestions as MP3 file attachments (max. 3 minutes / 5Mb attachment, please!). We’ll be happy to see how we can include your audio contribution in a show.

Check the FIR website for information about other FIR podcasts. To receive all podcasts in the FIR Podcast Network, subscribe to the "everything" RSS feed.

This FIR Interview is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.

Podsafe music - On A Podcast Instrumental Mix (MP3, 5Mb) by Cruisebox.

Posted by shel on 05/02 at 11:10 AM

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Smileys

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Submit the word you see below:


<< Back to main