Companies with Trademarks Advised to Pre-Order .TEL Webnames.ca expects stiff competition on December 3, 2008

Vancouver, BC, October 28, 2008 - Companies with registered trademarks know it’s crucial to protect their trademark in the most popular domain name extensions. Webnames.ca is advising trademark holders and owners that .TEL is one domain that cannot be ignored. In the same way the Internet brought fundamental change, Webnames.ca believes .TEL has a similar potential to revolutionize how we keep in touch.

“It will be the simplest and most efficient way for customers to reach your business, based on their location or service needs,” says John Demco, Co-Founder and Director of Webnames.ca. “.TEL will eliminate the need for customers to update your company’s contact information when it changes. It will revolutionize the way businesses connect with consumers.”

.TEL allows businesses to securely store, update and share all their contact information, under a unique domain name (eg. yourbusiness.tel), which can be accessed by any internet enabled device. Once a customer has saved a .TEL address in their electronic phonebook, they will have that contact information for life because .TEL provides updates to their phonebook when your business makes changes to its .TEL address.

“.TEL names aren’t websites; they are more similar to directory listings, so it could be difficult for customers to be sure the information provided is from the right company,” warns Demco. “If you hold the trademark for XYZ Brand, but neglect to register the corresponding .TEL, a competitor could register xyzbrand.tel and divert your customers. Not only have you lost customers, your brand could be compromised.”

Webnames.ca is offering pre-ordering for Sunrise registration to companies with trademarks, who can claim their .TEL addresses ahead of the line. Trademark holders that do not register their names during Sunrise risk losing their names to competitors during the Landrush and General Availability registration periods.

Brian Hill, President & CEO of Aritzia, understands the importance of protecting his brands and has already pre-ordered his trademarks for his .TEL names. “As soon as Webnames.ca informed my team about .TEL, we understood the importance of protecting our trademarks. We also feel the utility of .TEL will help our business, allowing customers to easily locate our numerous locations across North America.”

.TEL registration is both global and awarded on a first-come, first-served, so national and international competition will be stiff for conflicting trademark claims. “Any company with a registered trademark – particularly those with common names – should register the corresponding .TEL domain,” says Demco. “For instance, there are dozens of organizations in the US, UK and Canada that hold a qualifying trademark for ‘Adams’. “

Webnames.ca is a prominent registrar that is trusted by the world’s largest companies and is urging businesses to pre-order their .TEL names now, before the most popular names are claimed. Webnames.ca will submit all pre-orders in the order they were received on December 3rd, when Sunrise registration begins.

Intellectual Property Institute of Canada Chair of Domain Names & Trademarks on the Internet Committee, Mark Davis said, “We had heard about .TEL but had not realized the difference between this and previous domains and its significance to trademark holders."

About Webnames.ca

Webnames.ca Inc. is Canada`s original and most experienced domain registrar. A spin-off from the Internet pioneers who founded the .CA domain in 1987, Webnames.ca is 100 per cent Canadian owned and operated. In addition to domain registration and corporate domain name management, Webnames.ca offers a growing list of Internet services. Webnames.ca`s reliability is complemented by state-of-the-art systems and online tools which help customers get the most from their Internet presence. For more information, visit www.webnames.ca.

Media Contacts

Danica Wolfe
Fleishman-Hillard
604-688-2505
Danica.wolfe@fleishman.ca

Julianna Horvat
Webnames.ca Inc.
604-633-3097 xtn 148
Julie@webnames.ca