Frequently Asked Questions
Registering Your Business on the Internet
Is it
necessary to register our company name and product names with
the Internet if we have already filed these names with the state
and the U. S. Trademark office?
The Internet is world-wide and anyone from any country can
register and begin using any previously unregistered name. Name
registration is on a first-come-first-served basis and the user
has exclusive use of a registered name forever. It is difficult,
if not impossible to prevent someone from using the name you
want. Abbreviations and shortened names are commonly used
instead of full corporate names, so the best name to use on the
Internet might be an original new name. For example: XYZ Widget
Company might choose "bestwidget.com" or "xyzwidget.com"
- both names never previously used or registered.
We
are not currently using the Internet. Is it advisable to
register our current name or an abbreviated or shortened name
right now?
Yes. E-mail usage (electronic mail from computer to computer)
is on the rise and will likely become more common than regular
mail in the years ahead. It has been predicted that E-mail will
become the standard way for businesses to communicate within the
next year. Your company's address on the Internet (your
registered name) will become your company's written identity in
the future. Therefore, it is extremely important to pick a good
name that is as closely associated to your company name as
possible and secure it quickly to prevent another company from
registering it first.
Exactly
how are company or product names used on the Internet and World
Wide Web? What is a "Domain Name"?
The names are used in your E-mail address and your World Wide
Web (WWW) address. All e-mail addresses are in the form:
'person@company.com' where com stands for commercial (ex. 'jsmith@xyzwidget.com').
Other endings are gov for government agencies; edu for
educational institutions; and net for large computer networks.
The portion after the @ (company.com) is the "Domain
Name". The Domain Name is the portion that must be
registered before being used on the Internet. On the World Wide
Web, companies can display "pages" or electronic
brochures describing their products and/or services. This is the
part of the Internet that is growing rapidly every day with many
companies installing their own pages. The addresses for all
pages on the WWW are in the form: 'http://company.com/pagename'.
As you can see, the Domain Name is used as part of the WWW
address also.
With
whom is the Domain Name registered?
An organization called InterNic keeps the central list for
the thousands of host computers on the network. Anyone can
register a name; however, the process is fairly complicated and
time-consuming. You must specify your host computer's numerical
address, hardware and software, as well as the same information
for your backup host computer. As a service to our customers,
Dream Communications will register a name for you using our own
computer configuration. All you have to do is fill out the
registration form enclosed.
If Dream
Communications registers a name, who will own it?
You will. Your company name or personal name will be
registered as you list it for each name on the registration
form. You are free to change the designated host computer at any
time. All rights and responsibilities regarding registered names
will remain with you, the customer.
Can
two companies have the same Domain Name?
No. The Domain Name is your unique address and all computers
on the Internet will use it to direct traffic to you. However,
there only need be a slight variation to create a unique Domain
Name. For example, each of the following can be registered:
xyz.com; x_y_z.com; x-y-z.com; xyzinc.com, and are all
considered different names. It is a good idea to register
several variations of your chosen Domain Name to prevent others
from using them and creating confusion in the marketplace.
What
about upper and lower case characters, spaces, underlines, or
punctuation in a Domain Name?
For Domain Names, the computer does not differentiate between
upper and lower case characters, so most names appear in all
lower case; however, you can register your name in all upper
case or a combination of both. Spaces, commas, and periods
cannot be used. Underlines can be used instead of spaces but
they are often confused with dashes and should be avoided.
Does
my personal name, shown to the left of the Domain Name in my
e-mail address, need to be registered?
No. It is up to your company to assign the names shown to the
left of your Domain Name. Once the company has a Domain Name,
you can assign as many individual names as you need for the
portion of the name to the left of the @. For example: sales@company.com;
info@company.com; employee1@company.com; employee2@company.com;
employee3@company.com, etc.
I
am already using E-mail. If I set up a Domain Name, can E-mail
addressed to the new name be forwarded to my current address?
Yes. This is one of the advantages of having your own Domain
Name. With a registered Internet Domain Name you will be able to
receive E-mail regardless of the Internet service that you use
and you can print the Domain Name on your business cards or
letterheads without concern that you might change Internet
services in the future.
Can't
I simply use the existing E-mail address I have on AOL or
another on-line service for business purposes?
You can; however, most businesses want to create their own
identity and not advertise AOL every time
they publicize their E-mail address. Also, many on-line services
do not allow you to use your own personal name to the left of
the @ and they have a "home use" connotation (i.e., a
string of numbers or letters) that is not very professional.
What will it cost my
company to become a part of the Internet and the World Wide Web?
The process of doing a Domain Name search is a free service
provided by DreamCom. Registration of up to five Domain Names is
$25.00 each, payable to Dream Communications, Inc., plus the
$70.00 InterNic registration fee for the first two year period
with an annual renewal of $35.00 after two years. Web Page creation fees are based on the individual
needs of the person or company who wants the site. Prices will
depend on the amount of information that is contained and the
number of links made to additional pages. Remember, it is best
to start slow and get help as you proceed. We will be more than
happy to help you prepare for the future. Begin by selecting a
name and we will assist you from there.
At what point can I
print my new E-mail address on my business cards and
letterheads?
We suggest that you wait until you have received written
notification from us that your preferred name has been approved
before you have anything printed. We will confirm your name
registration as soon as possible.
Return to FAQ Home Page
