VeriSign Announces Enhanced Partner Program
to Provide Online Protection for Corporate Brands and Trademarks
New features Allow Law Firms, Advertising Agencies and IT Service
Providers to Address Complex Brand Protection Requirements of Large
Enterprises
SAN DIEGO, International Trademark Association (INTA) Annual Meeting,
May 16, 2005 – VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), the leading provider
of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications
networks, today announced the expansion of the VeriSign Digital Brand
Management Services global partnership program, which allows law firms,
advertising agencies, and technology service providers to offer a rich
suite of tools and services to help their large clients protect their
valuable brands and trademarks online.
Online intellectual property risks take a number of
forms, spanning the legal, marketing, and information technology departments
within the typical large enterprise. VeriSign Digital Brand Management
Services support each of these functional areas to address brand and
trademark protection from multiple angles, including:
- Automated monitoring
of relevant domain name registrations and Internet content – including
Web sites, blogs, chat rooms, and online auctions – for brand abuse,
grey market and counterfeit goods, and online fraud attempts such as
“phishing” scams; proactive measures against domain name “cybersquatters”
and “hijackers”
- A DNS (domain name
system) assurance solution that provides 100 percent domain name resolution
ensuring that unexpected DNS failures do not prevent users from reaching
critical email and Web systems.
- A proven set of
systems and processes for administering global domain name portfolios,
minimizing the risk of Web site failure due to inaccurate record keeping
or other common administrative errors
At the heart of the enhanced solution is the VeriSign
Digital Brand Manager (DBM), a Web-based portal which hundreds of corporations
are already using to successfully manage their global domain name portfolios.
In contrast to retail domain name registration tools, which typically
support only the most popular domain names, the DBM is purpose-built
for large corporations. The DBM enables companies to register and modify
most domain name extensions, including complex country-code top-level
domain names (ccTLDs), and includes enterprise-specific features such
as administration and billing by corporate division, and sophisticated
workflow delegation and approval capabilities.
The latest release of the Digital Brand Manager, Version
7.0, adds several new administrative features which allow partners to
offer more customized services to their clients. These new features
are being used by partners such as Toronto-based technology services
firm Soltrus, Inc. and London-based law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse.
“Our partnership with VeriSign has enabled us to create
a unique offering that combines our own strengths and experience in
intellectual property consultation with a proven framework for managing
global brand portfolios online,” said Simon Chapman, Partner, Field
Fisher Waterhouse. “Through this program, we are now able to offer our
clients a single co-branded interface for managing domain name assets
across hundreds of global domain name registries.”
VeriSign will continue to seek qualified law firms,
advertising agencies, and technology firms to join the program throughout
2005.
“Large enterprises invest billions of dollars worldwide
each year building the equity of their key brand names and trademarks,
and the same dynamic attributes that make the Internet such a powerful
marketing vehicle create a multitude of risks to those tasked with protecting
corporate intellectual property,” said Maigread Eichten, vice president
and general manager, VeriSign Digital Brand Management Services.
“This expanded program will allow us to collaborate closely with all
parties responsible for corporate brand protection, including trusted
legal, advertising, and IT partners.”
To learn more about VeriSign’s Digital Brand Management
Services, please visit: http://www.verisign.com/dbms.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. operates intelligent infrastructure services that enable
businesses and individuals to find, connect, secure, and transact across
today's complex, global networks. Additional news and information about
the company is available at http://www.verisign.com/
For more information, contact:
VeriSign Media Relations: Patrick Burns, pburns@verisign.com,
703-948-4471
VeriSign Investor Relations: Tom McCallum, tmccallum@verisign.com,
650-426-3744
Statements in this announcement other than historical
data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve risks
and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results to differ
materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements.
The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainty
of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations in quarterly
operating results due to such factors as the inability of VeriSign to
successfully develop and market new products and services and customer
acceptance of any new products or services, including VeriSign's Digital
Brand Management Services, the possibility that VeriSign’s announced
new services may not result in additional customers, profits or revenues;
and increased competition and pricing pressures. More information about
potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial
results is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2004 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking
statements after the date of this press release.
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