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Planet.ECO LLC

From ICANNWiki


Type: Limited Liability Corporation
Industry: Domain Services, Web Hosting, Digital Content and Consulting
Founded: 2011
Founder(s): Jean William
Moses Boone
Headquarters: Stamford, Connecticut
Country: USA
Businesses: http://www.dot-ECO.com
Website: planetdotECO.com
Facebook: planet dot ECO
LinkedIn: planet dot ECO
Twitter: @planetdotECO
Key People
Emmit McHenry (Special Advisor)
Jean William (Cofounder)
Moses Boone (Cofounder)
Jack Gault (Advisor)
Matthew Maounis (Advisor)
Steve Silver (Advisor)

planet .ECO LLC was an unsuccessful applicant for the .eco gTLD. The mission of the company is to "connect people, communities and organizations, who work collaboratively across all digital mediums, to advance the sustainability of the planet." [1]

New gTLD Application & Dispute[edit | edit source]

The .eco gTLD had a contentious application process. Four applicants submitted applications. Of the four, only Big Room LLC obtained community priority status.[2] As a result, the contention set was resolved and only Big Room's application was allowed to proceed. The domain was delegated to Big Room in 2016.[3]

planet.ECO LLC continues to assert that it is the rightful owner of the .eco domain. This claim is based in part on its trademark registrations and in part on innuendo that the delegation to Big Room either didn't happen or was invalid.[4] A recent press release states in part that "[s]ince 2009, planet .ECO has been the exclusive registrant of .ECO and continues to provide .ECO domain, database management and advertising agency services."[5] Similarly, a recent edit to this article read in part:

The following activities and events are of public record in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“Office”) and  represent 12 years of litigation brought by companies Big Room Inc., Top Level Domain Holdings Inc. (TLDH) and Doteco, LLC, all founded and operated by former ICANN Chair, Board Members and Key Executives vying to obtain control over the wordmark “.eco” — an incontestable domain name related trademark, exclusively held by planet .ECO® LLC (“.ECO®”). [Emphasis added, list of trademark actions and appeals omitted]

The conflation of trademark rights with "ownership" of the .eco TLD is a common theme in the company's web content, marketing, and efforts to alter information on this wiki.

.ECO Registered Trademarks[edit | edit source]

Planet .ECO owns four registered trademarks: USPTO registration numbers 3716170, 5851826, 5813887 and 6220615. Three of these registrations are for ".eco" as a standard character or "word" mark, and one is a registration for a design mark

Registration No. Class
Goods & Services Image
3716170 42 Design, creation, hosting and maintenance of internet sites for third parties; Hosting of digital content on the Internet; Providing specific information as requested by customers via the Internet word mark
5851826 35 Advertisement for others on the Internet; advertising and marketing services, namely, promoting the goods and services of others; compilation of advertisements for use as web pages on the Internet; providing and rental of advertising space on the Internet word mark
6220615 35 Advertising agency services; Database management word mark
5813887 35 Computerized database management

The design mark does not appear to be in use on planet .ECO's website nor in its marketing materials. The image portrayed in the company information appears to be the current logo for the company.[6] planet .ECO also utilizes the stacked-letter .eco design throughout its website. This is strikingly similar to Big Room's logo:

Neither company has a registered trademark for this design.

Environmental Issues Awareness[edit | edit source]

In 2013, planet .ECO® LLC launched a campaign to gather 1,000,000 signatures on its "Wall of Care" showcasing people around the globe who CARE about planet earth. It created a communication platform where people, companies, and organizations can show they CARE, encourage others to CARE, learn how to CARE, and how they can take action to help the environment and combat climate crisis.[7]

References[edit | edit source]