Webtons(w)

Basic Facts About Webtons

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Webton is a verbal trademark or service mark defined as a sequence of four (4) to two hundred and fifty-five (255) characters from those enumerated herein: the alphanumeric characters of the English alphabet, space (" "), dash ("-"), slash ("/"), ampersand ("&"), comma (","), full colon (":"), semicolon (";"), and full stop/dot ("."). Webton must contain at least four (4) alphanumeric characters, excluding an initial article (the/a/an) if present. Single (generic) English words (as listed for example in the Unabridged Webster Dictionary as found at http://www.m-w.com) cannot be registered as Webtons. However, a Webton may contain such English words together with one or more other valid characters, including a chain of at least two such English words.

The Webton Office will not register a chain of characters as Webton in the following cases: (i) If such Webton already exists in the Webton Register; (ii) If the chain of characters in question differs from any existing Webton only by an intial article (the/a/an), or only by one or more non-alphanumeric characters; (iii) If the new Webton is deemed by the Webton Office to be, for whatever reason, inappropriate for use on the Internet (e.g., because of its offensive nature, or if such Webton might infringe trademark rights of a third party). However, the Webton Office cannot and does not search national trademark databases when registering Webtons. In case of any improper registration, the lawful owner should contact the Webton Office and provide proof of ownership. As soon as the dispute is resolved, the respective entry will be deleted from the Webton Register.

The Webton Office encourages applicants for Webtons to provide proof of national trademark or service mark registration if the same chain of characters is to be registered as a Webton. If two or more parties request registration of the same Webton, preference will be given to the party with proof of such trademark or service mark registration. If no proof is provided, or if two or more parties provide proof of trademark or service mark registration in different registers or countries, the new Webton will be granted to the party that submitted the request first. Trademark and service mark registrations have no priority over one another in Webton registration procedures. The Webton Office strongly discourages attempted registration of trademarks or service marks owned by third parties as Webtons.

Webton is not intended to substitute the registration of a trademark or service mark in respective national registration offices. As a supplement to national registration procedures, it rather covers the period before the respective trademark or service mark is registered in the respective country, as well as serves to claim global trademark or service mark ownership and, also, serve as decisive evidence in trademark disputes. Webton registration procedure is fast and inexpensive. Moreover, it is globally effective. Nonetheless, Webton registration cannot and does not guarantee the level of protection the registration with national trademark office does. Therefore, in most cases, it is highly recommended to file concurrently with the Webton Office and with the respective national trademark office. It should be noted, however, that national registration does not necessarily establish worldwide trademark or service mark protection, and the registration procedure can be expensive and time consuming.

Webton records are maintained in the Webton Register, operated by the Webton Office, a subsidiary of Abibas LLC. Application for Webton registration can be made by submitting the Webton Registration Agreement to the Webton Office.

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