The Irish Trade Marks Act 1996 describes a trade mark as being any graphical representation (words, designs, letters, numerals and shapes of goods or their packaging) “capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings” . Trade Mark Law stands to uphold the rights of ownership and use of such distinguishable properties.
With the advent of the World Wide Web and increasing access availability, online trading has become very important to the world of commerce and as such the provisions of traditional trademark law have come under duress.
A number of issues pertaining to trademark law have been highlighted through emergent internet domain name disputes. “Domain names are alphanumeric combinations that serve to mask internet protocol (IP) addresses” , for user-friendly access to individual web sites. No two websites can have the same domain name. In order to ensure the consistent clarification of individual reputations, businesses and organisations vie to register domain names akin to associated trademarks.
This paper discusses the effectiveness of jurisdictional trademark law in the context of the internet, a global platform for commerce. Section 1 outlines the nature of online disputes pertaining to the conflict between trademark law and domain names. Section 2 highlights how the jurisdictional nature of trademark law may in fact cause domain naming disputes and act as a hindrance to resolution. Section 3 presents an overview of the current efforts being made to resolve the conflict between trademark law and the domain naming issue. Section 4 is a critical analysis of the effectiveness of current dispute resolution policies. Section 5 summarises the progressive effectiveness of tr...
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Panavision International L.P. v Toeppen 141 F.3d 1316 9th Cir. 1998 Panavision International L.P. v Toeppen 141 F.3d 1316 9th Cir. 1998 [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.techlawjournal.com/courts/avery/19980417.htm
Prince plc v Prince Sports Group Inc [1998] FSR 21 [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.domaindisputes.co.za/downloads/NominetCases/PrincevPrinceSports.pdf
Robin Cook v Alberta Hotrods 2012 NAF no: FA1105001391337 [ONLINE] Available at: http://domains.adrforum.com/domains/decisions/1391337.htm
SoLuxury HMC v. Above.com Domain Privacy / Host Master - Transure Enterprise Ltd [2013] Case No D2012-1945 (WIPO ADR) [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=D2012-1945
1-800-Flowers Inc v Phonenames ltd [2000] FSR 697 [ONLLINE] Available At: http://www.out-law.com/page-8654
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United States v. Sell, 343 F.3d 950, 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 26859 (8th Cir., Sept. 2, 2003)
Lester, etal V Percadani, etal. United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Retrieve October 31, 200 http://www.pamd.uscourts.gov/opinions/conner/01v1182a.pdf
Whren et al. v. U.S. , 517 U.S. 806 (U.S. Supreme Court June 10, 1996).
The issue in this case was whether California and Hawaiian Sugar Company could recover the liquidated damages from Sun Ship. Where there is a contract between the parties for liquidated damages and d there were no misrepresentations or unfair dealing in creating the contract,
...head?: Norms, freedom and acceptable terms in internet contracting’ (2010) 14 Journal of Internet Law 18-31
The aim of this essay is to critically discuss how the law of passing off and trade mark law have common roots and therefore are, in many respects, similar. I will begin with a short brief history of trade mark law and the law of passing off. I move on to discuss the similarity between trade mark law and the law of passing off with reference to relevant case law and statutes. Although, passing off and trade mark law deal with overlapping factual situations, s 2(2) of the Trade Mark Act 1994 maintains passing off as a separate cause of action. When a trade mark is threatened by the actions of third parties the proprietor will bring an action for both passing off and trade mark infringement which both share many similarities. However, they are
GANNETT CO. v. DEPASQUALE. (n.d.).The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. Retrieved April 7, 2014, from http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1978/1978_77_1301
United States of America. U.S. Supreme Court. Legal Information Institute. Cornell University Law School, 1 Apr. 2003. 13 Nov. 2013
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Other forms of Internet regulation is domain registration, IP address control, etc. In domain registration, once a domain is purchased the Webmaster’s address has to be registered at the time of purchase.
Nissan Motor Co. would be concerned about the use of the two domain names being used by Nissan Computer Corp for several reasons. Firstly, as the Web has become a major marketing tool, customers and potential customers of Nissan Motor Co. might have difficulties finding their information due to the two domain names currently owned by Nissan Computer Corp. Ultimately this could result in the company losing profits if customers are not able to access their website. Another concern would be in regards to the names of the companies and possible confusion of these names by customers. Evidently, persons could presume that there is a connection between these two companies especially taking into consideration the fact that Nissan Motor Co. started marketing cars in the US with the name Nissan in the late 1980s. Following this, in 1991, Nissan Computer Corp was formed with two domains names being acquired Nissan.com and Nissan.net in 1994 and 1996 respectively.
The first step is to register a domain name. A domain name is used to identify your unique location on the web. There are a...
As American and European markets mature, Asia is turning out to be progressively appealing to businesses, particularly to e-business firms that flourish with global and scalable business models. Yet, barring markets like Japan, most global e-commerce players like Amazon, eBay and Expedia have yet to find in Asia the kind of success that they have enjoyed in their home markets. While late entry and local regulations partly explain their low market share in the region, these firms also face unique challenges in Asia due to diverse cultures, multiple languages and poor infrastructure. Given the rising significance of the Asian market, interest in the territory would seem to be a consistent step. But, it’s important not to forget that the international playing field, in respect of Intellectual Property, is exceptionally dynamic and competitive.
A trademark is a distinctive indicator that used by a company or business to identify the brand, products or services. And the trademark can represent a logo, symbol, word and graphic. You can protect your logo or signature by applying/register through IPOS so that others will not have the chance to grab your ideas or even modify to look similar. Once acquired, a trademark can last indefi...