If your trademarks and business names contain letters with accents and you are the owner of domain names linked with them, it is important to familiarize yourself with the following. With a view to offering owners the possibility of registering domain names that comply with French spelling, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (the « CIRA »), the organization that manages the register of ...
Super injunctions and online libel revisited--Injunctions are ‘pointless’, ‘unbelievably expensive’ and counterproductive because ‘there’s an assumption of guilt about which you can do nothing...’ These are just some of the frustrated words of Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson when he abandoned his super injunction (obtained in September 2010 to silence rumours he had an affair with ex-wife Alexandra Hall, whilst married to current wife Frances) on 26 October 2011 ...
On 10 October 2011 the Council of Ministers of the European Union approved a new Directive on consumer rights in the European Union. This directive is aimed at strengthening the rights of consumers in all Member States of the European Union by bringing uniformity to the rules applicable to all European citizens with a special focus on the online shopping sector ...
On June 20, 2011, in Singapore, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the global coordination company for Internet addresses, approved the new program for the thematic extension of gTLDs. This program will certainly lead to significant growth in the number of domain names (gTLDs) on the Internet ...
On June 20, 2011 in Singapore, ICANN ( Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the global co-ordination body for Internet addresses, approved the new program for the thematic extension of GTLDS. This program will certainly lead to significant growth in the number of domain names (GTLDS) on the Internet ...
The Hungarian Parliament enacted Act no CXII of 2011 on Information Rights and the Freedom of Information ("New Data Protection Act"), which will replace the currently effective Act no LXIII of 1992 on the Protection of Personal Data and the Publication of Data of Public Interest ("Old Data Protection Act") from 1 January 2012. Below, we briefly summarize the main changes brought about by the New Data Protection Act ...
Beginning today, September 7, 2011, owners of registered trademarks can file applications to block third parties from registering adult-oriented .XXX domains that contain their marks. This “Sunrise” period runs through October 28, 2011. Opt-out applications can be submitted using any .XXX accredited registrar. The current list of accredited registrars is available here. Registars’ fees vary but typically range from $200 to $500 per mark ...
Introduction A plant variety right (PVR) is an IP right which rewards breeders of new plant varieties for their efforts in creating those varieties. The current PVR law dates back to 1975 and is based on the 1961 International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. The convention has since been amended several times, most recently and radically in 1991 ...
There are numerous internet-based interactive platforms that may be referred to as social media outlets, for example Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter. It is hard to spend any time online without coming across some form of social media platform. Many retail websites will have a section for user feedback and reviews, such message boards are themselves a form of social media ...
It’s an all too common scenario. An unsuspecting Internet user opens an email with a link to a website spoofing that of a leading financial institution. The user is asked to input personal information such as bank credentials or social security numbers and in a matter of seconds the user becomes the victim of a phishing scam and is left to deal with the financial and emotional fallout stemming from the identity theft ...
Should the internet be free and open, with all internet traffic treated equally and no restrictions on transmitting content regardless of its type or size (so called 'net neutrality')? That is the view taken by Dutch lawmakers, who have finally approved a new piece of legislation to force internet service providers (ISPs) to do just that ...
A recent technical malfunction that knocked out websites and affected hundreds of businesses using Amazons cloud computing services offered high profile evidence of both the widespread popularity of cloud services and the potential consequences of storing company data in the cloud. The incident also drew attention to cloud service contracts, raising questions about performance levels and backups in the event of a service interruption ...
First proposed more than a decade ago, .XXX top-level domains have now been approved and will be launching shortly. The domains are intended for use by the adult entertainment industry, but for trademark owners in other industries, the potential association of their valuable brands with .XXX domains could have serious consequences. Fortunately, owners of registered trademarks can soon apply to block third parties from registering .XXX domains that contain their marks. The ...
The Supreme Court ruled last week in Microsoft Corporation v. i4i Limited Partnership that “clear and convincing evidence” is still the standard of proof required to invalidate a patent. Section 282 of the Patent Act states that “a patent shall be presumed valid” and that “[t]he burden of establishing invalidity of a patent or any claim thereof shall rest on the party asserting such invalidity ...
The Social Network did not just tell the fascinating story of Facebook's rise to a social media power house. It showed how society is increasingly using social platforms as one of its primary channels for communication. Social media is broader than social networking sites such as Facebook or Linked-In ...
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery — so they say. Boosters in Wellington, New Zealand, call themselves “Silicon Welly.” And Texas Gov. Rick Perry said somewhere in America “Silicon Valley will be replicated. I want it to be in Austin” — even though central Texas dubbed itself “Silicon Hills” long ago. There’s also the Silicon Forest, Prairies, Alleys and other Valleys. Not to mention the No. 1 Silicon Alley — in New York City ...
All businesses possess confidential information - trade secrets, customer lists, staff records - which could mean loss of business, reputational damage, or give competitors an advantage if leaked, whether deliberately or accidentally.Depending on the type of information disclosed and the type of organisation, there are potential consequences regarding public policy and data protection ...
In the latest in a series of legal challenges around internet keywords and particularly the Google AdWords system, the special adviser to the Court of Justice of the European Union, Advocate General Jaaskinen, has issued his opinion ...
Website accessibility is a requirement of the Equality Act 201. The first of a two-part article explaining Equality Act 2010 to websites. In our last article, Website accessibility: Industry standards and best practice, we considered how the Equality Act 2010 would be implemented, and considered what the new BSI Standard for website accessibility might look like ...
Concents : * Technology Licences in the Event of Bankruptcy * New Quebec Business Corporations Regime * The Shareholder Agreement: the "Specifications" of the Private Corporation Shareholder Technology Licences in the Event of Bankruptcy Sive Burns [email protected] The owner of a technology protected by an intellectual property right (copyright or patent) or protected by secret (trade secret) may grant a licence to a licensee ...
The Federal government’s legislation to control spam and other ills of the electronic age with the oh-so-catchy title of An Act to promote the efficiency and adaptability of the Canadian economy by regulating certain activities that discourage reliance on electronic means of carrying out commercial activities, and to amend the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Act, the Competition Act, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and
1. How can the government’s attitude and approach to internet issues best be described? The attitude of the Belgian government can be described as positive and their approach is proactive. In 2003, the Belgian authorities announced the introduction of ‘egovernment’ ...
In the second of a two-part look at issues arising out of the tender process we consider what can happen when that process is poorly run. Part 1 of the series can be found at IT tendering: Leveraging the benefits. A typical tender process involves the customer analysing and documenting its requirements in a Request for Proposals (RFP) to which interested suppliers will prepare a response ...
In a recent article we looked at some of the employment risks for customers associated with cloud computing. Following on from Cloud computing: Employment law implications, we now consider how best to assess the other risks associated with cloud computing ...
