Proofmarked provides trademark-backed authentication and verification to secure digital identities against brand impersonation and phishing attacks. This system allows platforms to prove their legitimacy to customers at every transaction touchpoint, enhancing user trust and retention. The service utilizes a self-reconciling allowlist-blocklist system to rapidly identify and block fraudulent domains.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Phishing sites, account‑takeover attacks, and brand impersonation exploit the fact that web browsers only verify domain ownership and SSL/TLS certificates, leaving users unable to confirm that a URL is truly authorized by the brand they intend to interact with. This gap erodes consumer trust and exposes organizations to financial loss and reputational damage.
Solution
Proofmarked delivers a B2B2C SaaS platform that extends trust verification beyond domains by anchoring each brand’s digital presence to its registered trademark. The service validates trademark ownership through WIPO and the Trademark Clearinghouse, then issues a Trademark Self‑Sovereign Identity (TSSI) that brands can embed via a lightweight browser extension and an HTML metatag. When a user visits a protected URL, the extension cryptographically confirms the site’s TSSI, displaying a clear “trusted” indicator. End‑users can instantly report suspicious pages, triggering an automated blocklist that propagates across the network and accelerates takedown actions. The platform integrates with existing KYC/CIAM workflows and offers SAML/SSO for enterprise identity management, providing a unified trust layer for both customers and internal security teams.
Target Audience
The primary customers are trademark‑holding brands—such as financial institutions, e‑commerce platforms, SaaS providers, and consumer goods companies—that need to protect their online reputation and safeguard their customers from phishing and account‑takeover attacks.
Features
- Trademark verification pipeline that ingests ownership data from WIPO and the Trademark Clearinghouse to generate a brand‑specific TSSI
- Browser extension (sandboxed, end‑to‑end encrypted) that validates TSSI on each page load and shows a human‑readable trust badge
- Simple HTML metatag and self‑service dashboard for brands to allowlist domains and sub‑domains at granular levels
- Real‑time phishing‑report button that feeds into a self‑reconciling blocklist, eliminating false positives/negatives and enabling rapid takedown coordination
- Network‑effect “hyper‑federated” trust model where reports from any user protect all other users, even those without the extension installed
- Enterprise‑grade features: SAML/SSO integration, domain blocklist management, and API access for CIAM/KYC systems
- Comprehensive audit logs, encryption‑at‑rest, and role‑based access controls to meet compliance requirements