The IPR Help Desk's Domain Name Primer

 

Jane Lambert

The IPR-Helpdesk is an EU-funded service that supplies information on intellectual property to small and medium enterprises.  It carries out research into IP, publishes regular newsletters and other publications and holds webinars and other events.  Among its most useful publications are infographics that communicate essential information in a digestible format.

The latest of those infographics is on Domain Names and Cybersquatting which can be downloaded free of charge from the EU Publications Office.  That document explains what is a domain name, what is meant by the terms TLD (top-level domain), second-level domain and third-level domain and the difference between generic and country-code top-level domains.  It discusses how to register domain names, the practice of cybersquatting and what can be done to prevent it.

Readers who require further information on domain names, cybersquatting and dispute resolution may read my articles on Domain Name Disputes and Dispute Resolution Policies and Domain Name Glossary.  The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy is one of the most successful alternative dispute resolution schemes in the world.  For a few hundred United States dollars, trade mark owners or those who could bring an action for passing off can apply for the transfer or cancellation of a domain name that is the same as or confusingly similar to their trade mark. 

Such applications come before administrative panels (of which I am one) who decide whether the domain name is the same or confusingly similar to a trade mark in which the complainant has rights,  whether the domain name holder has any rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name and whether the domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith.    If the panel finds in favour of the complainant on all those issues he or she can order the transfer of the domain name to the complainant or its cancellation,   The whole process is completed within a matter of weeks.   Usually, far less time than would be required for a claimant to issue and serve proceedings in the English courts and for the defendant to respond.   

The UDRP has been adopted by many other domain name registries including Wales (see my articles Welsh Top Leval Domain Names  12 April 2019 and Welsh IP Cases: D2016-0485 ALDI GmbH & Co. KG v. Mahfuz Ali  13 April 2019 NIPC Wales).  Many others such as Nominet regulates the ".uk" space and the Swiss domain name authority have similar policies.   To see how the process works just read my decision in Re D2022-1858 lancastersarchery.com.

Readers may be interested to learn that I do not confine myself to deciding domain name disputes.  I also advise and represent parties to such disputes.   As a panellist, I know exactly what the tribunal that will decide the dispute is looking for.   Having such insight, I can usually offer a much more successful and cost-effective service than most others.   Those who want to learn more can call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact form.

Auntie Jane's Trade Mark Tips: No. 5 - How do I register a Trade Mark?

Jane Lambert

Probably the best advice I can give to an entrepreneur or some other business owner who wants to register a trade mark is:  consult a trade mark attorney.  In  Can I apply for a Trade Mark by myself or must I instruct an Attorney? 31 May 2017 I advised that it is possible to apply for a trade mark without an attorney, that it has been done many times before and that unrepresented applicants can expect a certain amount of practical help from the Intellectual Property Office ("IPO") but I would not recommend it. I cautioned that it is a lot of trouble to save a few hundred pounds and it could result in a lot of extra expense as there are many pitfalls in the process.

In that article, I directed readers to the "Find an Expert" section of the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys' website or suggested that they might attend an IP clinic or even have a word with me. The fee that any of them would charge for taking your instructions, ascertaining your needs and preparing your application would be chickenfeed compared to the cost of your time in learning how to do all that for yourself. If you try to do it yourself there is a much higher risk of something going wrong. And in the very unlikely case that an attorney gets it badly wrong, he or she is regulated and insured against professional negligence whereas you are not.

For those who chose not to take my advice, I gave a number of tips. They are worth reading again even if you do instruct your attorney because you will find it easier to instruct your attorney and the attorney will find it easier to advise you if you know what is going on.  If you want to register an EU trade mark you should also read the EU Trade Mark fact sheet published by the IPR Helpdesk.

Your application to register a mark does not mean that it will be accepted. In tomorrow's tip, I will consider some of the things that could possibly go wrong. Theresa May will tell you all about that.

You will find my other tips indexed here.

If you are an entrepreneur, business owner or anyone else seeking guidance on UK trade mark law, I can give you up to 30 minutes of my time for initial advice and signposting. That may not be enough time to dispose of your issue but it should be enough to define it and assess what further assistance you need, what sort of professional is best placed to supply it and how and where to find such assistance.  

What to do if you find a knock off on your competitor's stand at an exhibition

Manchester Central Convention Complex

Photo Stephen Richards
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic Licence
Source Wikipedia

Jane Lambert

The European IPR Helpdesk has just published two fact sheets on intellectual property and trade fairs which I discussed this morning in Resolving IPDisputess at Trade Fairs in NIPC Law. The reason the Helpdesk published those fact sheets is that a lot of disputes occur at trade fairs. That is because new products are often unveiled at trade fairs and IP owners get an idea opportunity to examine them.

English law provides a full range of remedies for IP infringement including interim and pre-action injunctions but, as I said in Resolving IPDisputess at Trade Fairs,  they are expensive to obtain and come with onerous conditions. It would be unwise for a small business to seek such relief unless it has a sound case in law and is properly funded.  If you intend to exhibit at an international trade show here are the steps that I would advise you to take first.

Tip #1   Ensure optimum legal protection for your intellectual assets 

Make sure that you have appropriate legal protection for your brands, products and business in each of the markets in which you intend to operate including the country in which you the trade show is to take place.  This should be part of your IP strategy and integrated into your long term business plan.

Tip #2    Make sure you have the funding for any enforcement proceedings you want to take and any revocation or invalidity proceedings others may bring against you.

Except for proceedings in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court ("IPEC") small claims track IP litigation will cost you money. There's a limit to how much you can be made to pay the other side in IPEC but no limit at all to the amount you have to pay your own solicitor and counsel. In the rest of the Chancery Division and County Court, the only limit to your potential liability is what the costs or applications judge decides. That can run into the hundreds of thousands or even millions.

For small most companies, the best solution is before-the-event insurance. I have written a lot of articles on the topic the latest of which is IP Insurance: CIPA's Paper 1 May 2016 NIPC Inventors Club. I recommend your reading the IPO's Intellectual property insurance guidance of 24 March 2017. You will find a list of specialist brokers on the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys' website.

Tip #3 Don't lose your temper

Even though you may have spent a shedload of money on R & D and marketing only to find the spitting image of your flagship product on your competitor's stand you must be very careful what you say to the other side. English intellectual property statutes provide an anomalous cause of action called a "threats action".  If you threaten to sue for patent, trade mark, registered design and unregistered design right infringement in the UK and you can't make good that threat any person aggrieved by those threats (who may not necessarily be the person to whom your threats were made) can sue you under s.70 of the Patents Act 1977, s.21 of the Trade Marks Act 1994, s.26 of the Registered Designs Act 1949 and s.253 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 for declarations, injunctions and damages. The law is about to be reformed by the Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Act 2017 which I discussed in The Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Bill 24 Apr 2017 NIPC Law, but it is not in force yet.

Tip #4  Collect the Evidence

Your best bet is to keep stum and pick up any brochures, data sheets and other documentation that may be around. Ask for technical and sales information on the product and whether you can take any pictures. As soon as you have got all that you can get, send all that documentation to your IP adviser and ask for an urgent appointment with him or her.

Tip #5   Take Appropriate Action

After reading your documentation, your IP adviser should set out your options which will range from a without notice application for an injunction to remove the infringing goods from display to an action in the IPEC small claims track or indeed doing nothing and the likely risks and costs. You should plan litigation very much as you plan any other business operation with clear aims, budgetary controls and milestones.

Should you wish to discuss anything in this article, call me on +44 (0)20 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.