Do I need an Internet Trade Name?

This is a scam played on non-Asian based companies.

The sender of the email typically asserts it is the domain name registrar in China or “Asia” — neither of which is true and the latter is a particularly silly thing to say because only countries certify domain name registrars ("Asia," of course, not being a country).

The official registry for all .cn domain names is the China Internet Network Information Center -- which goes by the unfortunate acronym “CINIC." See < http://cnnic.net.cn/en/index/index.htm >. CINIC maintains a list of approved registrars (like GoDaddy, eNom, etc.) that can register .cn domain names. See < http://tr.im/lhNA >.

One egregious scammer is SK Holdings Company. See < http://tr.im/lhPU >.

The scam works because the scammer tells the target that someone is about to register the target’s trade name as a .cn or other country-code specific domain name and so the target becomes concerned. But just like all other registries, neither CINIC nor any of its approved registrars has a waiting period to register a domain name — in short, no one knows or is ever told that someone “is about to register” a domain name, let alone that the domain name consists of someone else’s trade name.

If you do business in China then register your trade name (both the English and Chinese variants) as a domain name with CINIC. If not, no worries.

I'm not sure what an internet trade name is, and I'm not sure what you mean when you write that you have your company on several several domains and registered. I'm not sure if you've created an entity to protect your company name and have registered a doman name and a trademark for your business. What you should do is consult with a qualified IP lawyer to go over what your company currently has is the way of business registrations and IP assets and what you may still want to further your business.

Is your company registered as a corporation or LLC with the New York Secretary of State?

Have you got one or more domain names?

Have you got one or more trademarks registered in one or more classes covering all the types of goods or services that your business provides, registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and with the New York Secretary of State?

Have you copyrighted any original expressions your company has created?

Have you patented any processes your company has created?

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.