.ape and .magic are trying to register a US trademark

The US start-up D3 Global has filed trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the two top-level domains .ape and .magic. It is already known that the APE Foundation, self-appointed “steward” of the cryptocurrency ApeCoin (APE), intends to apply to the internet administration ICANN for .ape; no application for .magic has been publicly known to date. However, the application collides with the USPTO's long-standing practice of rejecting trademark applications for top level domains. Kevin Kreuser, Director of Legal and Compliance at D3, explains the move as follows: “There is no brightline rule against trademark registrations covering domain name services involving TLDs. For example, fTLD has successfully registered trademarks for .bank and .insurance. The goal of filing the trademark applications is the same for all trademarks - we want to do whatever we practically can to help guard consumers from confusion.” This statement is inaccurate; the fTLD trademarks concern logos, not word marks for .bank or .insurance. It is therefore expected that the USPTO will not grant trademark protection for .ape and .magic either.

The Las Vegas-based start-up D3 Global Inc. has made another application for a generic top-level domain public. Together with the cross-chain NFT platform Magic Eden, the company intends to apply to ICANN for the .magic domain extension as soon as the application window opens. Like numerous other endings supported by D3 Global before it, .magic aims to bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3 domains. "Our partnership with Magic Eden is intended to marry the many benefits of Magic Eden's web3 ecosystem with crucial connections to traditional internet users," said Fred Hsu, co-founder and CEO of D3 Global. Through D3's on-chain network, developers and blockchain projects will create interoperable apps, platforms and services that not only enhance the benefits of web3, but also utilise the existing internet infrastructure based on the traditional Domain Name System. "The Magic Eden community is at the heart of everything we do, and we are excited to provide users with their own .magic domain in partnership with D3," adds Chris Akhavan, Magic Eden Chief Revenue Officer. ICANN is currently accepting applications for new top level domains in Q2 2026.

Source: https://d3.inc/blog/partnerships/d3-par ... el-domain/