Now, dragon pounces on Indian domain
Chinese companies are registering Indian domain names to bank upon brand recall from Indian customers.
By Papiya Pattanayak, TNN |
RAJKOT: After flooding Indian market with cheap goods, Chinese companies are waging a war of another kind. This time, they are registering Indian domain names to bank upon brand recall from Indian customers. Picture this: Rajkot-based Vedantika Herbals received an offer from China-based domain registration firm asking it to get the company���s online portal registered or face a situation where it is no longer the owner of the company���s domain name.
The reason given was that once the domain name was registered by a Chinese company, Vedantika will lose out on brand appeal in India, China or anywhere else in the world.
Indian companies like Vedantika are being asked by Chinese domain registration firms to shell out $700 per product to get registered in China.
Vedantika Herbals is facing the dilemma of either acting fast or losing out to some Chinese company that has already applied for the brand and domain name. The Chinese company in question has applied for domain names: vedantikaherbals.com.cn, vedantika-herbals.net.cn, vedantikaherbals.org.cn, vedantikaherbals.cn, vedantikaherbals.net. All the five names infringe upon the internet intellectual property rights of the company.
To secure the brand name and domain name in favour of Vedantika, the Chinese agency is asking for an early registration, charging $700 per brand for 10 years and $300 per domain name for 10 years. According to owner of Vedantika Herbals N Limbasiya, the brand value that has been created by the company will be compromised if they do not pay for early registration . ���In future, we might suffer in e-commerce, as Vedantika Herbals will no longer be our brand name, at least in e-space,��� he lamented.
As per the reports of Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International���s B2B and C2C E-Commerce report for the year 2006-07, the size of B2C e-commerce for 2006-07 was estimated at around Rs 7,080 crore. In 2007-08, the figure is expected to reach Rs 9,210 crore, a growth of about 30%. E-commerce includes verticals like travel, e-tailing, classifieds, paid content subscription and digital downloads.
���E-commerce market, which has become colossal today, might get severely affected if China continues to register Indian brand names. In that case, Indian companies will lose on e-commerce. Ultimately, the brand value that was originally created by Indian companies would be utilised by their Chinese counterparts,��� company secretary Kishore Dudhatra, who���s studying the case, told ET.
There is a possibility that such solicitations could be fake, but if the registration actually takes place then small companies that are not in a position to pay such huge amounts might end up losing the brand, at least in the cyberspace, he said.
The reason given was that once the domain name was registered by a Chinese company, Vedantika will lose out on brand appeal in India, China or anywhere else in the world.
Indian companies like Vedantika are being asked by Chinese domain registration firms to shell out $700 per product to get registered in China.
Vedantika Herbals is facing the dilemma of either acting fast or losing out to some Chinese company that has already applied for the brand and domain name. The Chinese company in question has applied for domain names: vedantikaherbals.com.cn, vedantika-herbals.net.cn, vedantikaherbals.org.cn, vedantikaherbals.cn, vedantikaherbals.net. All the five names infringe upon the internet intellectual property rights of the company.
To secure the brand name and domain name in favour of Vedantika, the Chinese agency is asking for an early registration, charging $700 per brand for 10 years and $300 per domain name for 10 years. According to owner of Vedantika Herbals N Limbasiya, the brand value that has been created by the company will be compromised if they do not pay for early registration . ���In future, we might suffer in e-commerce, as Vedantika Herbals will no longer be our brand name, at least in e-space,��� he lamented.
As per the reports of Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International���s B2B and C2C E-Commerce report for the year 2006-07, the size of B2C e-commerce for 2006-07 was estimated at around Rs 7,080 crore. In 2007-08, the figure is expected to reach Rs 9,210 crore, a growth of about 30%. E-commerce includes verticals like travel, e-tailing, classifieds, paid content subscription and digital downloads.
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���E-commerce market, which has become colossal today, might get severely affected if China continues to register Indian brand names. In that case, Indian companies will lose on e-commerce. Ultimately, the brand value that was originally created by Indian companies would be utilised by their Chinese counterparts,��� company secretary Kishore Dudhatra, who���s studying the case, told ET.
There is a possibility that such solicitations could be fake, but if the registration actually takes place then small companies that are not in a position to pay such huge amounts might end up losing the brand, at least in the cyberspace, he said.
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