Formerly known as About.com, DotDash is an American Digital media company that publishes articles and videos about various topics, including (but not limited to) health, home, food, beauty, and tech.
The About.com Domain
The web page for About.com now redirects to DotDash. The domain about.com was first registered in 1999 and will expire in 2022. About was first registered with the united states patent and trademark office in 1999.
Read more on trademarks and domain names.
Company History
The site was first founded in 1996 under the business name “The mining company” by New York-based entrepreneurs. The company changed its name to “About Inc.” and the domain to “about.com” in May of 1999. The company was acquired by Primedia, Inc in 2000.
In February 2005, Times Co announced it was buying About.com, and they completed the purchase for a reported $410 million; they beat other bidders such as Google and Yahoo.
In March 2007, it was reported that About.com had around 33.5 million unique visitors. About Inc. acquired ConsumerSearch.com – a site with 3 million unique monthly visitors at the time – for $33 million in cash.
About.com’s first foreign venture, the China-based Abang.com, launched in December of 2007. By January 2008, the China site consisted of around 25 employees and 80 writers responsible for article production within seven categories: Fashion, Food, Health, Hobbies, Pets, Digital, and Travel.
In 2011, About En Español was launched, which was About’s first-ever Spanish language platform and initially featured nine topics, including movies and makeup, that were expanded to around 100 by 2012.
The launch was part of a strategy that included an overhaul of the About.com homepage, doubling the number of “how-to” and “DIY videos” on About.com’s 24 channels and other news outlets and features.
The About Group generated a massive 102 million dollars in 2007, representing a 135-percent jump from the Times Co acquisition.
Later, About was acquired by IAC, and it was announced in May of 2017 that About.com was set to become DotDash. CEO Neil Vogel said that the company had lost mind share and needed to update its marketing strategy. In 2018, Dotdash won Digidays publisher of the year.
In 2019, Dotdash announced the acquisition of Byrdie and MyDomaine from Clique brands. On May 15, Dotdash announced the acquisition of Brides from Conde Nast.
In the Spring of 2019, DotDash’s home site, The Spruce, announced the launch of their first-ever paint collection, The Spruce Best Home, In partnership with Kilz and sold exclusively by Amazon. Dotdash made many additional acquisitions this year and, in 2020, would go on to acquire TreeHugger and Mother Nature Network. In June, Dotdash was named Digiday’s publisher of the year in Digiday’s media Awards 2020. The Spruce won for best user experience, and CEO Neil Vogel won Executive of the year. On September 22, Dotdash announced that it acquired Simply Recipes and Serious Eats from Fexy media, giving them exclusive rights to both.
Other Related Domains & Trademarks
We’ve already had a look at the About.com domain and trademark; about Inc is no stranger to the application process. Let’s look at related Domains owned by About Inc and their associated registered trademarks.
Lifewire.com
Lifewire was launched as an independent arm of About Inc in 2016. The idea behind Lifewire is that it serves to offer advice and answers on standard technology questions and problems in a clear and simplified format. When it was launched, Lifewire featured 16,000 articles penned by 40 experts. The articles taught readers what’s new in technology and explained how to use better devices they already owned.
About Inc registered the trademark with the USPTO in 2016. The domain name was registered in 1998 and will expire in 2023 unless renewed beforehand.
SimplyRecipes.com
SimplyRecipes is one of the oldest food blogs, starting in 2003. It contains over 3,000 recipes and has traffic of over 15 million users. Initially, a food blog started by Elise Bauer, it has grown from a small business to a vast and trusted culinary resource.
The domain name has been registered since late 2002.
The trademark filing for Simply Recipes took place in 2006.
Seriouseats.com
Serious Eats is an award-winning high-traffic food blog with over 7 million visitors per month. Serious Eats is a website and blog focused on food enthusiasts, created by food critic and author Ed Levine. Levine published a book in 2011. Serious Eats was acquired by Fexy Media in 2015 and then by Dotdash in late 2020.
Serious Eats domain was registered in 2006, and the trademark registration took place in the same year.
ThoughtCo.com
Founded in 2013, ThoughtCo is an educational website that answers questions on an extensive list of science, history, religion, and current events. ThoughtCo’s articles are detailed and examine both sides of the argument using a pros and cons format.
ThoughtCo.com’s domain was registered in 2013, and About Inc filed the trademark application the same year. Use of the mark dates back to 2017.
TreeHugger.com
TreeHugger is a sustainability website with over 100 expert writers reporting news, current events, and other subjects like eco-friendly design, homes, and gardens. It was rated the top sustainability blog of 2007 by Nielsen Netratings and was included in Time Magazine’s 2009 blog index as one of the top twenty-five blogs.
Treehugger.com was registered in 2002 and will expire in 2022 unless renewed before then.
Liquor.com
Liquor.com offers you an expert guide on all things cocktail and spirit-related. Readers can access exclusive stories from industry insiders on the best spirits, the world’s top bars, the newest drink trends, and recipes, too!
The site won the 2012 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards for Best Cocktail Writing and Best Cocktail Author, and our How to Cocktail video series won a James Beard Award in 2013.
Liquor.com was first registered in 1998 and is set to expire in 2022. About Inc filed the trademark application in 2021.
TripSavvy.com
TripSavvy is an online resource and advice site that provides travel advice by travel enthusiasts and on-the-ground experts. Blog posts, recommendations, FAQ’s and more are offered to help you plan your itinerary perfectly.
“You’ll find that our 20-year-strong library of more than 30,000 articles will make you a savvy traveler—showing you how to book a hotel the whole family will love, where to find the best bagel in New York City, and how to skip the lines at theme parks. We give you the confidence to spend your vacation actually vacationing, not fumbling with a guidebook or second-guessing yourself.” – TripSavvy.
TripSavvy.com was first registered in 2002 and has been a registered trademark since 2018.
Wrapping Up
About Inc. is a large company with over 180 million monthly users across all of its brands. About Inc. is reportedly valued at roughly $2 Billion, making it one of the largest publishers in the world. Part of its immense value will come from its service marks and other intellectual property. About. Inc is one of the most prolific trademark owners, boasting over 100 trademark applications.
As a business owner, trademark law gives you everything you need to protect your intellectual property rights in terms of legal recourse. Still, you can only benefit from this critical trademark protection by registering trademarks with the USPTO. If you fail to secure your trademark rights, you have no recourse if you’re a victim of (what would otherwise be considered) trademark infringement.
