Kidnapping of Trademarks on the Internet: Cybersquatting
Counterfeiters as well as unfair competitors, seek to parasitically profit of the efforts of others. Thus, on the Internet, counterfeiters and unfair traders have implemented occupying and registering domains, in some cases identical and in others very similar, so that consumers, when doing online search, reach their sites, diverting the consumer’s initial interest or providing fake products. The domain name system is independent of the trademark system in each country, as well as globally. This has required significant efforts on the initiative of the owners of trademarks and other intellectual property rights with the Internet Society, ICANN and international organizations, including the WIPO. This approach resulted in an objective cooperation in order to have mechanisms to reverse the use of domains with malicious conduct, without authorization and that may be used as a way of promoting counterfeit products. Mechanisms to impugn the granting of domain names and prevention options have been developed, such as the Trademark Clearing House. In this scenario surfaces the importance of intellectual property professional to be updated, and to know the options that customers have for the protection of trademark rights on the Internet. Panelists will share with us cybersquatting cases that exemplify how to deal with “brand hijacking” via the domain name system, and will report on the tools available for the protection of trademarks on the Internet against abuse that third parties may do with the domain name system.
Room BC