Trademarks on the Internet Judge President of the Intellectual - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Carlos Manuel Gonçalves de Melo Marinho Trademarks on the Internet Judge President of the Intellectual Property Chamber of the Lisbon Court of Appeal

Internet vs Physical World • Similar needs for regulatory interven�on and surveillance; • Iden�cal risks and opportuni�es; • Loss of a cross-border hiding effect; • Global monitoring. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 2

Emerging Effects (a.) A more rigorous management and protec�on; (b). The need for permanent watching; (c). A poten�ally exponen�al increase of li�giousness due to: (c.1). cybersqua�ng ; (c.2). no control like for trademark grounds of refusal; (c.3). increase of undue evoca�ons of infringements. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 3

Domain names disputes • Conflicts move to the digital field; • A crossroad between trademark and domain name protec�on; • Complex legal analysis vs simple guidelines control; • Asymmetric protec�on; • Difficulty to deal with accomplished facts; • Huge commercial relevance. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 4

Domain names disputes’ approaches • Outside the classical trademark approach; • Need for public policy; • Need for preven�on – the sunrise period ; • General rejec�on of the bad faith; • Similarity of marks/names is only a factor. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 5

Evalua�on (a). Ownership; (b). Anterior use; (c). Previous a�empt to sell; (d). Lack of inten�on to use; (e). Previous history; (f). Use of forged and false informa�on; (g). Strong public knowledge. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 6

EU Public policy rules – Regula�on (EC) No 874/2004 (a). Phased registra�on (b). Revoca�on; (c). Objec�ve unlawfulness: (c.1). Iden�ty or confusing character; (c.2). Previous recogni�on of the challenged right; (d). Subjec�ve elements: (d.1). Lack of legi�mate interest; (d.2). Bad faith. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 7

Legi�mate interest (a). Prior use or prepara�on; (b). Common knowledge; (c). Legi�mate, non-commercial or fair use. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 8

Bad faith (a). Purpose of selling, ren�ng, or otherwise transferring the domain name; or (b). Purpose of preven�ng the reflec�on of a name in a domain name, provided that: (i). a pa�ern of such conduct can be demonstrated; or (ii). the domain name has not been used; or (iii). failure to use the domain name within six months; (c). Purpose of disrup�ng the professional ac�vi�es of a compe�tor; or (d). Purpose of a�rac�ng Internet users, for commercial gain; (e). Non demonstrable link. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 9

ICANN Rules – administra�ve proceeding (a). Selec�on of a Provider; (b). Submission of a complaint; (c). Absence of discovery or witness confronta�on. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 10

Demonstra�on (Applicant) (a). Trademark “iden�cal or confusingly similar”; (b). Party that registered has “no rights or legi�mate interests”; (c). Domain name registered and used in bad faith. Demonstra�on (Defendant) (a). Bona fide ; or (b). Commonly knowledge by the domain name; or (c). Legi�mate non-commercial or fair use. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 11

Remedies (a). Request for cancella�on; (b). Request for transfer. Access to court (a). Before the mandatory administra�ve proceeding is commenced; or (b). A�er such proceeding is concluded. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 12

Case Law EU - ECJ Case C-657/11, Belgian Electronic; - ECJ Case C-569/08, Internetportal. WIPO - Case No. D2009-0976, Su Kutusu; - Case No. D2009-0913, Grey-Hen; - Case No. D2009-0767, Horoz; - Case No. D2009-0865, Société des Produits Nestlé S.A. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 13

e-Commerce liability - Need: stop unjus�fied geo-blocking. - Tension between: 1. Recogni�on of the value of e-commerce; and 2. Fight against the viola�on of rights and consumer protec�on. - Legal approach: e-Commerce Direc�ve 2000/31/EC. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 14

Secondary liability - ISPs: no general obliga�on to monitor... - Restric�on – obliga�on ‘to inform … or communicate …’ - Secondary liability – against registrars and administra�ve contacts. - To hear a case: - is similar to evaluate any trademark infringement without digital content. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 15

Secondary liability (cont.) Major differences: (a). Taking of evidence; (b). Dealing with the acts of the intermediaries. Requisites of the secondary liability: - Joined Cases C-236/08 to C-238/08, Google France SARL; - Case C-324/09, L’Oréal SA. EJTN - Carlos M. G. de Melo Marinho 16