"They are a natural
fit for large global
brands because of their
insight and innovative
forward thinking"

 

"They seem aware
of issues before
anyone else"

 

"They are
flexible and adapt
quickly to how
we work"

 

"They are smart
and reactive
to developments
in the industry"

 

"They are trusted
and effective
because they are
very client focused"

Welcome to Valideus

We provide domain registrant, validation and identity verification services. This enhances consumer trust in a registry which in turn drives growth and profitability.

Every day our team of skilled validators check that applicants meet an eligibility threshold for the registration of a domain name. We use open-source intelligence to validate:

  • Geographical nexus requirements
  • Affiliation with a commercial association
  • Certification by a professional body
  • Ownership of registered or unregistered rights
  • Contact details

We have a proven online platform which connects securely with registries and registrars.

We consult with registry operators helping them to design Sunrise and priority application windows like Limited Rights Periods (LRP). We draft policies designed to maximise take up by eligible applicants.

We have unrivalled expertise in domain name validations. Since 2008, we have validated over 200,000 applicants with a 100% accuracy record.

What We Do

We help the operators of gTLD, new gTLD and ccTLD registries to get the right names into the right hands. This limits domain name abuse and promotes consumer trust and confidence.

We do this by running outsourced registrant validation programmes. This can involve:

  • Drafting effective eligibility policies including Terms & Conditions of the launch phase
  • Educating registrants and registrars on the value of participating in a validated launch programme
  • Assessing the eligibility of applicants against registry requirements
  • Helping applicants to meet the eligibility criteria
  • Managing a transparent appeals process, featuring independent panellists
  • Providing registry operators with accurate, up-to-date reports

Our Expertise

At Valideus, we have designed and implemented successful validation programmes for geographic and community registries such as .london, .amsterdam, .brussels, .vlaanderen, .wales, and .cymru.

We have also worked with “Open Restricted” TLDs such as .bot and .tickets and “Restricted Registries” such as  .abogado and .law.

We validate the eligibility of registrants whether they apply in a launch phase or under general availability. Our experience covers:

  • Sunrise – where we validate the applicants’ trademarks or other intellectual property rights.
  • Limited rights phases – where only the owner of specific rights can apply, ahead of general availability.
  • Nexus validation – where we ensure that applicants (individuals, businesses, and charities) are residents of the specific city, region, or country. This might also require the validation of IP rights and business registrations.
  • Year-round validation programmes – we work with registries that have policies that restrict who can own a domain at the second level. For example, .law requires registrants to be lawyers, a law firm or a law school or demonstrate further affiliation with the legal profession.
  • We validate the registrant’s credentials to ensure registry requirements are met at the point of registration and at renewal.

Our Team

Our teams in the UK, Spain, USA, and Japan include legal and policy professionals, operational experts, data analysts, and project managers. Team members have experience of working in registries, registrars, and registrant organisations. We are skilled at using open-source intelligence to validate applications.

We have a network of agents around the world who we can call on to assist us in global validation programmes.

Nick Wood

Executive Chairman & Co-Founder

Nick is Executive Chairman and co-founder of Com Laude with Lorna Gradden. Nick has a real passion for the domain name industry and believes that it is currently an emerging industry in a time of great change. It’s a time where best practice is not well-established and not always relevant. However, it is fascinating and challenging to be working with some of the world’s leading brands, helping them to create and implement strategy.
He spends considerable time immersed in the ICANN environment representing client issues in policy discussions and staying abreast of the latest changes, to help keep clients abreast of the latest developments and enable them to make informed decisions about their online IP strategies.
Nick is also deeply involved in several IP organisations: as a director and council member of MARQUES, the European association of brand owners, an associate member of the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys and a committee member at the International Trademark Association.
For many years, Nick has acted at the cutting edge of rights protection in domain names, having edited “The Perfect Sunrise”, the influential booklet on pre-launch rights protection measures. He is a member of the editorial board of Managing Intellectual Property magazine, co-author of Domain Names: Global Practice and Procedure, published by Sweet & Maxwell and co-author of the rights protection mechanisms recommended to ICANN for the launch of new gTLDs.

Lorna Gradden

Director & Co-Founder

Lorna is Co-Founder and Director of Com Laude. She has been working in domain name management since 1994 and co-founded Com Laude with Nick Wood. She is known for having client interests at heart in all aspects of her work and ensures all aspects of Com Laude run smoothly, taking responsibility for order fulfilment, registry relationships and information systems. A regular speaker at industry events, Lorna loves the ever-changing nature of the domain name space.
She previously co-founded Net Searchers with Nick Wood, a company described by Legal Business magazine as “possibly the best domain name management company in the world and certainly the first to treat domains as IP, not IT”.
After Nick and Lorna sold Net Searchers, she joined VeriSign DBMS in 2003 as head of client management for EMEA. For Lorna, job satisfaction comes from getting to work with fantastic people and when she’s not dreaming of domains, Lorna can be found tending vegetables on the South Coast of England. She says that her law degree is not quite as useful today as it was during the five years she spent managing a successful band.

Glenn Hayward

Chief Executive Officer

Glenn Hayward is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with particular expertise working in Tech Companies, most notably in the Domain Name Industry. As Chief Executive Officer at Com Laude, Glenn is a Board member and one of the Leaders of the business, with specific responsibility for Strategy Development and Implementation, Corporate Affairs including Mergers and Acquisitions, oversight of Corporate Services and oversight of Brand Protection Services.
His previous role was Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary of CentralNic Group plc, the AIM listed domain name registry and registrar service provider. Prior to this role, Glenn was Executive Director, Business Development and Finance, at Nominet, the registry provider for the .uk namespace. Glenn was a board member at Nominet and led the Group’s diversification agenda including round 1 of the new top-level domain names programme, notably with a public-facing role on .wales and .cymru and through his work with .brand applicants.
Earlier in his career, Glenn was Business Analysis Manager for EasyJet plc and Finance Director for the SME division of Northgate Information Solutions plc.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics from the University of Birmingham and a Diploma in Company Direction from the Institute of Directors in the United Kingdom (which focussed on Corporate Strategy and Leadership). In 2011 he was also awarded the Finance Director of the Future award at the UK’s FD Excellence Awards (endorsed by the Confederation of British Industry and the Institute of Chartered Accountants).

Dietmar Lenden

Senior Client Project Manager

Dietmar is a Senior Manager for .BRAND applicants and is responsible for ensuring that each applicant passes through the various phases of the ICANN process to completion. His exceptional customer support skills and friendly manner serve him well in an environment with forever moving goal posts. Dietmar also manages the validation team and handles operational aspects of the various validation projects, calling upon his strong organisational skills and attention to detail.

Alexander Chilikov

Verification & Research Analyst

Alexander is a Verification & Research Analyst at Valideus. His role involves carrying out validation of domain name registrations and verification of applicants and their supporting data, which entails examining trade mark registrations, and reviewing corporate and legal documentation from a variety of jurisdictions. Alexander has worked on several new gTLD projects including .London, .Tickets and .Law.

His responsibilities also include assisting the Policy Development team at Valideus by researching and reporting on various ICANN related events, and engaging in ICANN policy development by monitoring and getting involved in working groups.

Alexander Wood

Verification & Research Analyst

Alexander is a Verification & Research Analyst at Valideus. His main responsibilities are to validate domain names by verifying if applicants meet the Eligibility Criteria as set out by various registries. This involves researching the backgrounds of individuals and legal entities from across the world.

Our Heritage

With 12 + years’ experience, we have outstanding expertise in the field of validations. Our skilled validators are supported by our unique systems. Robust, customisable, and highly intuitive, the Validation System:

  • Collects data directly from the registrant, or from the registry via a secure API connection.
  • Is customisable, both in the backend and the registrant interface, to tailor it to the needs of each individual registry client.
  • Can connect both the registry’s record and the record of external databases (e.g. AVVO, a USA database of legal professionals).
  • Allows us to create customisable websites for each registry so that registrants have a consistent message and imaging when they are asked for further data or to start the proof of eligibility.
  • Provides detailed reporting tools that provide insight into the validations actions that have been completed during a specific period.

We have examined the validity of wide range of registrant data. Some examples include:

  • International and local IP regulatory authorities
  • Commercial and company registries
  • International and local legal accreditors and regulators

We have examined the validity of wide range of registrant data. Some examples include:

  • Registered trademarks
  • Unregistered trademarks and trading names
  • Business entities
  • Individual and commercial address details
  • The accreditation details of lawyers, IP attorneys, notaries, etc.
  • The credentials of law firms
  • The details of accredited law schools and colleges

Contact Us



Valideus is located in the ideal city for managing your top level domain: London, the world’s nexus for business, travel and innovation. Our headquarters are near to the British Museum in historic Bloomsbury. If you have a general query please fill in the contact form and we’ll get back to you.

Alternatively please see other ways of contacting us below.

Valideus
28-30 Little Russell Street
London
WC1A 2HN

Phone: +44 (0)20 7421 8250
Fax: +44 (0)87 0011 8187
General enquiries: experts@valideus.com

Valideus helps brand owners, communities and businesses get the most out of the opportunities presented by dot brand, geographic and generic Top Level Domains.

Valideus is a member of the Com Laude Group
but operates as a separate company to ensure the integrity of data and transparency in decision making.

© Valideus 2021

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Valideus
28-30 Little Russell Street
London, WC1A 2HN
United Kingdom
UK +44 (0)20 7421 8250
JP +81 (0)70 3277 2830