Common Mark Certificates now available from DigiCert

DigiCert has announced the availability of its Common Mark Certificate, a new type of certificate designed to help organizations enhance the security and value of their email communications. For organizations with logos protected under prior use – rather than registered trademarks -- Common Mark Certificates enable the enhanced brand recognition and email deliverability benefits that come from displaying the sender's logo in the recipient’s inboxes.

The 2024 Identity Fraud Study by Javelin Strategy & Research reports that U.S. adults lost $43 billion to identity fraud in 2023, a 13% rise from the previous year. Phishing remains a major threat, tricking people into sharing personal data or clicking malware links. To combat this, the industry introduced Domain-based Message Authentication (DMARC) in 2012 to prevent brand impersonation. Major email providers later supported Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) to incentivize DMARC adoption, requiring senders to verify logo ownership through mark certificates. Common Mark Certificates unlock the benefits of BIMI for more organizations.

"DigiCert’s new Common Mark Certificates are a game-changer for organizations looking to enhance the security and branding of their email communications,” said Dean Coclin, Senior Director of Digital Trust Services at DigiCert. “By removing the trademark requirement, we’re opening the benefits of BIMI to a broader range of businesses, allowing them to build trust and visibility in their customers’ inboxes. This offering aligns with DigiCert’s commitment to simplifying digital trust while helping organizations meet critical email authentication standards that are becoming increasingly important for both security and brand reputation."

"Common Mark Certificates are a significant step forward in making email authentication and BIMI more broadly accessible, empowering businesses of all sizes to leverage this powerful technology," said Seth Blank, CTO of Valimail and Chair of the AuthIndicators Working Group, which develops the BIMI standard. "At Valimail, we understand the importance of building trust and ensuring security in email communications. DigiCert’s new offering will enable more businesses to take advantage of BIMI, helping them boost brand visibility while reinforcing their commitment to email security and DMARC enforcement."

While companies must still complete a validation process to verify ownership of their email domain and logo, Common Mark Certificates offer the flexibility to secure logos not formally covered by a registered trademark, such as holiday-themed or cause-related variations. DigiCert's Common Mark Certificates also align with email authentication standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, meeting the recent requirements set by Google and Yahoo for bulk email senders.