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Trade-marks & the Internet
 Protecting Brands on the Internet
        and in Social Media
          d i S i l M di


            LAW 451 Trade-marks
      Faculty of Law, Queen’s University
            y        ,                 y
               Lorraine M. Fleck
                March 18, 2010
OUTLINE
I. Domain Names
  A. What are they?
  B. Types
  C. How do you get a domain name?
  D.
  D Disputes
  E. Strategies
  F.
  F Scams
  G. Pending developments
OUTLINE
II. Social Media
  A. The problem
  B. Case studies
  C. Policies of some social media websites
  D.
  D Strategies
OUTLINE
III.Other Uses of Trade-marks on the
    Internet
  A. Key word advertising
  B. Metatags
  C.
  C Pop up advertising
IV.Some Internet Resources
V. Questions
V Q    ti
DOMAIN NAMES
A. What are they?
               y
    A more friendly form of a physical
    address on the Internet
    Like a “vanity number”
    E.g. the
    E th IP address 69 63 181 11 t k
                 dd     69.63.181.11 takes
    you to…
DOMAIN NAMES
DOMAIN NAMES
B. Types
    yp
   1. gTLDs (generic Top Level Domains)
    a.
    a Unrestricted
       .com
       .net
        net
       .org
       .info
    b. Restricted
        .biz
DOMAIN NAMES
B. Types
    yp
   1. gTLDs
    c.
    c Sponsored restricted gTLDs a k a sTLDs
                                 a.k.a.
       (sponsored Top Level Domains)
       .areo         .asia      .cat
       .coop         .edu       .gov
       .int          .jobs
                      j         .mil
       .mobi         .museum .name
       .pro          .tel       .travel
DOMAIN NAMES
B. Types
    yp
   2. ccTLDs (country code Top Level
      Domains)
     .ca (Canada)    .us (U.S.A.)
     .ie (Ireland)
      ie             .uk (U K )
                      uk (U.K.)
     .fr (France)    .jp (Japan)
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you g them?
            y get
  1. First come, first served
  2.
  2 Do a WHOIS search
     a. ca WHOIS: http://whois.cira.ca/public/
  3. Use
  3 U an accredited registrar
              dit d    i t
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you g them?
             y get
   4. Satisfy any applicable presence
      requirements
     a. .ca Canadian Presence Requirements
        i.
        i Canadian citizen
        ii. Permanent resident
        iii. Legal representative of (i) or (ii) above
           (executor, administrator or other legal
           representative but NOT a lawyer acting in
           another capacity)
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you g them?
             y get
   4. Satisfy any applicable presence
      requirements
     a. .ca Canadian Presence Requirements
        iv.
        iv Corporation
        v. Trust
        vi. Partnership
        vii. Association
        viii.Trade union
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you g them?
             y get
   4. Satisfy any applicable presence
      requirements
     a. .ca Canadian Presence Requirements
        ix.
        ix Political party
        x. Educational institution
        xi. Library, archive or museum
        xii. Hospital
        xiii. Her Majesty the Queen
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you g them?
             y get
   4. Satisfy any applicable presence
      requirements
     a. .ca Canadian Presence Requirements
        xiv.
        xiv Indian band
        xv. Aboriginal people
        xvi.Owner of a registered Canadian TM
        xvii.Holder of an official mark
        xviii.Government
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you g them?
             y get
   5. Privacy shielding
      a.
      a Controversial
      b. .ca WHOIS policy
       i. Individuals
       ii. Businesses/organizations
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you g them?
            y get
   5. Privacy shielding
      b. .ca WHOIS policy
                      p y
        i. Interested Party Contact Procedure
        ii. Request for Disclosure of Registrant
            Information
                Registered copyright, patent or TM
                Registered business or trade name
                                        trade-name
                Use of personal information to commit
                crime or identity theft
                                y
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you g them?
             y get
   6. Pick your term
      a. ca:
      a .ca: 1 – 10 years
      b. .com: 1 – 10 years
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you g them?
            y get
   7. Obtaining rights
     a. Possession vs. ownership     p
     b. Can rights be acquired?
        i. Yes for services
  A trade-mark is deemed to be used in association
  with services if it is used or displayed in the
  performance or advertising of those services.
      f               d ti i      f th         i
                             Trade-marks Act, subs. 4(2)
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you get them?
   7. Obtaining rights
      b. Can rights be acquired?
         ii. It d
         ii I depends f wares
                      d for
A trade-mark is deemed to be used in association with wares if,
at the time of the transfer of the property in or p
                                   p p y          possession of the
wares, in the normal course of trade, it is marked on the wares
themselves or on the packages in which they are distributed or it
is in any other manner so associated with the wares that notice
of the association is then given to the person to whom the
property or possession is transferred.
                                         Trade-marks Act, subs 4(1)
                                                     Act subs.
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you get them?
   7. Obtaining rights
      b. Can rights be acquired?
         ii. It d
         ii I depends f wares
                      d for

             A passive website is NOT use with wares
                                                wares.
                          Pro-C Ltd. v Computer City, Inc.
                      (2001), 55 O.R. (3d) 577 (Ont. C.A.)
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you get them?
   8. Trade-marks Office Practice

       A trade-mark consisting of or containing one of
            d       k      i i      f         i i       f
      .com, .ca, .fr, .uk or .us is unregistrable under Trade-
      marks Act para. 12(1)(b) if the trade-mark when
                 p          ( )( )
      considered in its totality, as a matter of first
      impression in association with the wares and/or
      services claimed in the application is clearly
      descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive.
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you get them?
   8. Trade-marks Office Practice

       Where a trade-mark i i totality i registrable and
       Wh         d       k in its     li is     i    bl    d
      contains one of .com, .ca, .fr., .uk or .us, a disclaimer
      of gTLD or ccTLD is required if the gTLD or ccTLD
         g                    q              g
      when considered in association with the wares
      and/or services, forms a portion that is not
      independently registrable within the meaning of
      Trade-marks Act para. 12(1)(b). [Note: disclaimers
      no longer required as of August 15, 2007].
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you get them?
   8. Trade-marks Office Practice

       If the gTLD or ccTLD i d
           h TLD          TLD is deceptively misdescriptive
                                         i l   i d      i i
       and forms a significant part of the trade-mark, the
       mark in its totality is deceptively misdescriptive and
                          y        p     y          p
       therefore unregistrable having regard under Trade-
       marks Act para. 12(1)(b).

  Practice Notice: Descriptiveness and Terms Such as .com, .ca, .fr, .uk & .us
                                                CIPO (September 1, 1999)
DOMAIN NAMES
C. How do you get them?
   9. What happens when two people have rights in the
      same/confusingly similar domain name?
         E.g. imperial.com
         E g imperial com for margarine vs gasoline
                                        vs.
         “First in time”
         The lesson: register early!
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      a. Cease & desist letters
         i. May
         i M not work     k
         ii. Puts squatter on notice, which can be good or
              bad
                 Notice
                 Musical chairs
                 Purchase offer
         iii. Send to Registrar?
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      b. Administrative proceedings

         Useful when registrant is privacy shielded or
         outside of Canada making enforcement of a
                    Canada,
         judgment difficult/impossible
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      b. Administrative proceedings
         i. Uniform Di
         i U if       Dispute R
                              Resolution P li (UDRP)
                                  l i Policy (UDRP):
             gTLDs such as .com, .org
         ii.
         ii CIRA Domain Name Dispute Resolution
             Policy (CDRP): .ca
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
         p             p
      b. Administrative proceedings
         iii. Procedural overview
                  Complaint fil d
                  C     l i t filed
                  Registrant ‘s response
                  Panel appointed
                  Decision
         iv. Parties
                  Complainant (must meet Canadian Presence
                  requirements in CDRP)
                  Registrant
                  NOT Registrar
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1.
   1 Responses to disputes
      b. Administrative proceedings
         v. Arbitrator
               UDRP
               – WIPO, National Arbitration Forum (NAF)
               – Either 1 panelist or 3 panelists; 3 panelists if
                 parties disagree on number of panelists
               CDRP: Resolution Canada, BC International
               Commercial Arbitration Centre (BCICAC)
               – Initially 3 panelists, can be reduced to 1
                 panelist if no response
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1.
   1 Responses to disputes
      b. Administrative proceedings
         vi. Evidence
               Documentation
               Affidavit not required
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      b. Administrative proceedings
         vii. F
          ii Fees
                   UDRP: split between the parties
                       WIPO Fees (USD)
   No. of Domain Names        1 Panelist         3 Panelists
          1-5                   $1500                $4000
          6 - 10                $2000                $5000
          > 10             To be determined    To be determined
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      b. Administrative proceedings
         vii. F
          ii Fees
                 CDRP: bore solely by Complaint
                    BCICAC Fees (CDN)

    No. of Domains     1 Panelist        3 Panelists         Initial Fee
          1           $1750 + GST        $3000 + GST        $4000 + GST
         2-5          $2250 + GST        $4500 + GST        $5500 + GST
        6 - 10        $2500 + GST        $5250 + GST        $6250 + GST
         > 10        To be determined   To be determined   To be determined
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      b. Administrative proceedings
         viii. A
          iii Appeals
                   l
               Available expressly under UDRP
               Not precluded under CDRP
         ix. Can also bring simultaneous court
             proceedings
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      c. Tests
         i.
         i UDRP
            1. Disputed domain name is identical/ confusingly
               similar to a trade-mark or service mark in which the
               complainant h rights;
                     l i    t has i ht
            2. Registrant has no rights/legitimate interests in
               respect of the domain name; AND
            3. The domain name has been registered and is
               being used in bad faith.
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      c. Tests
         i.
         i UDRP
   Bad faith includes circumstances where the registrant has:
   –   Registered or acquired the domain name primarily for the
       purpose of selling, renting or otherwise transferring the
                    selling
       domain name to the complainant or a competitor of the
       complainant for valuable consideration in excess of
       registrant’s documented costs directly related to the domain
       name;
   –   Registered the domain name in order to prevent the owner of
       the trade-mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding
       domain name, provided the registrant has engaged in a
       pattern of such conduct;
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      c. Tests
         i.
         i UDRP
   Bad faith includes circumstances where the registrant has:
   –   Registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of
       disrupting the business of a competitor; OR
   –   By using the domain name, the registrant has intentionally
       attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to its
       web site or other on-line location by creating a likelihood of
                          on line
       confusion with the complainant’s trade-mark as to the source,
       sponsorship, affiliation or endorsement of the registrant’s web
       site or location or products or services on same.
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      c. Tests
         i.
         i UDRP
   Defence of registrant’s rights/legitimate interest includes
   demonstration of the following:
    – Before notice of dispute registrant used/made demonstrable
                          dispute,
        preparations to use the domain name in connection with a
        bona fide offering of goods and services;
    – Registrant has been commonly known by the domain name
        (even if it does not have trade mark or service rights); OR
                                   trade-mark
    – Registrant is making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use
        of the domain name without intent for commercial gain to
        misleadingly divert consumers or to tarnish the trade-mark.
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      c. Tests
         ii.
         ii CDRP
            1. Registrant’s name is “confusingly similar” to a mark
               in which the complainant had rights prior to the
               date f d
               d t of domain name registration and continues t
                             i           i t ti      d     ti     to
               have rights;
            2. The registrant has no “legitimate interest” in the
               domain name; AND
               d     i
            3. The registrant has registered and is using the
               domain name in “bad faith”.
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      c. Tests
         ii.
         ii CDRP
   “Mark”: alphanumeric or punctuation elements of unregistered or
   CIPO registered trade-mark, certification mark, s. 9(1)(n) marks
   and t d
      d trade-names.
   “Confusingly similar”: a domain name is confusingly similar to a
   mark if the domain name so nearly resembles the mark in
   appearance, sound or th id
                      d the ideas suggested b th mark as t b
                                           t d by the      k   to be
   likely mistaken for the mark.
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      c. Tests
         ii.
         ii CDRP
    “Rights”: Complainant has rights in the mark if
      – For an unregistered trade-mark, certification mark or trade-
         name,
         name the mark has been used in Canada by the
         complainant, its predecessor in title or a licensor of the
         complainant or its predecessor;
      – For a registered trade-mark, the mark is registered in CIPO
         in the name of the complainant, its predecessor in title or a
                            complainant
         licensor of the complainant or its predecessor in title;
      – For a s. 9(1)(n) mark, public notice of the adoption and use
         of the trade-mark was given at the request of the
         complainant.
               l i    t
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1. Responses to disputes
      c. Tests
         ii.
         ii CDRP
   “Bad faith”: defined exclusively as
   1. Registering the domain name primarily for the purpose of
      selling, renting, licensing or otherwise transferring the
      registration to the complainant or the complainant’s licensor or
      licensee of the mark or to a competitor of the complainant in
      excess of the registrant’s actual costs in registering th d
                 f th     i t t’     t l     t i     i t i the domaini
      name or acquiring the registration;
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1.
   1 Responses to disputes
      c. Tests
         ii. CDRP
   “Bad faith”: defined exclusively as
   2. Registering the domain name or acquiring the registration to
      prevent the complainant, or the complainant’s licensee or
                                        complainant s
      licensor, from registering its mark as a domain name provided
      that the registrant has engaged in a pattern of such conduct;
   OR
   3. Registering the domain name primarily for disrupting the
      business of the complainant, the complainant’s licensor or
      licensee, who is a competitor of the registrant.
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1.
   1 Responses to disputes
      c. Tests
         ii. CDRP
   For defence of registrant’s rights/legitimate interest, registrant must
   show one of the following existed prior to receipt of complaint:
     – Domain name was a mark, registrant used mark in good
          faith and registrant had rights in the mark;
     – Registrant used domain name in Canada in good faith in
          association with any wares, services or business and the
          domain name was clearly descriptive in Canada in English
          or French of (1) character or quality of the wares services or
                                                       wares,
          business, (2) the conditions of, or the persons employed in,
          production of the wares, performance of the services or
          operation of the business, or (3) the place of the origin of the
          wares,
          wares services or business;
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1.
   1 Responses to disputes
      c. Tests
         ii. CDRP
   For defence of registrant’s rights/legitimate interest, registrant must
   show one of the following existed prior to receipt of complaint:
     – Registrant used the domain name in Canada in good faith in
          association with any wares services or business and the
                                  wares,
          domain name was understood in Canada to be the generic
          name thereof in any language;
     – Registrant used the domain name in Canada in good faith in
          association with a non commercial activity including without
                               non-commercial           including,
          limitation, criticism, review or news reporting;
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1.
   1 Responses to disputes
      c. Tests
         ii. CDRP
   For defence of registrant’s rights/legitimate interest, registrant must
   show one of the following existed prior to receipt of complaint:
     – The domain name comprised the legal name of the
          registrant or was a name surname or other reference by
                               name,
          which the registrant was commonly identified;
     OR
     – The domain name was the geographical name of the
          location of the registrant’s non-commercial activity or place
          of business.
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   1.
   1 Responses to disputes
      d. Remedies
         i. Transfer
         ii. Cancellation
         iii. CDRP only: up to $5000 CDN in costs of
              unwarranted proceeding
                      t d        di
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   2.
   2 Purchase
      a. Valid option if not strong case
      b. Pricing may match or exceed UDRP/CDRP fees
               g    y
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   3.
   3 Courts
      Option if domain name ties in with other trade-mark
      breach or other causes of action and the judgment is
      likely to be enforced

      a. Trade-mark
      a Trade mark causes of action
         i.     Imitation (Trade-marks Act s. 19)
         ii.    Infringement (Trade-marks Act s. 20)
         iii.   Passing off
         iv.    Depreciation of goodwill (Trade-marks Act s. 22)
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   4.
   4 Common types of disputes
      a. Infringement/passing off
         i.   Cybersquatters: Someone who deliberately acquires a
              domain name to prevent others with rights in the
              domain name from using it, or to hold the domain for
              ransom
         ii. Tests same as in other trade-mark disputes
         ii T                 i   h    d       k di
         iii. Using a domain name which is similar to a trade-mark
              may violate the trade-mark owner’s rights if the domain
              name use results in misrepresentation or confusion
                             lt i   i         t ti           f i
              Tele-Direct (Publications) Inc. v. Canadian Business Online
                                                    (1998), 83 C.P.R. 3d (34)
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   4.
   4 Common types of disputes
      a. Infringement/passing off
             iii.   Difficult to establish a breach of trade-mark rights
                    when someone uses a domain name containing a
                    trade-mark merely as an address, without selling
                    goods, performing services or operating a business
                    which would give rise to confusion
 Sprint Communications Company L.P. v. Merlin International Communications Inc.
                                          (2000), 9 C.P.R. (4th) 307 (F.C. T.D.).
             iv.
             iv Conversion
             v. A passive website is NOT use with wares
                                                 Pro-C Ltd. v Computer City, Inc.
                                             (2001),
                                             (2001) 55 O R (3d) 577 (O t C A )
                                                       O.R.          (Ont. C.A.)
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   4.
   4 Common types of disputes
      b. Typosquatting
        i.     Cybersquatting which relies on typographical errors
               made by Internet users
        ii.    Typos in the actual trade-mark e.g. xample.com vs.
               example.com
        iii.   Also the addition of prefixes (e.g. wwwbrand.com) and
               suffixes (e.g. brandcom.com)
        iv.    Adding prefixes/suffixes to a trade-mark does not
               mean the domain name is no longer confusingly
               similar
DOMAIN NAMES
Most Common Prefixes Used by Cybersquatters
      Prefix                       Rank
       www                           1
       my                            2
        e                            3
        i                            4
       buy                           5
       shop                          6
       the                           7
       new                           8
       ww                            9
        go                          10

               Source: Corporation Service Company (March 2010)
DOMAIN NAMES
Most Common Prefixes Used by Cybersquatters
      Prefix                     Rank
      online                      1
        s                         2
       usa                        3
        tv                        4
      sucks                       5
      store                       6
      shop                        7
       com                        8
      world                       9
        e                         10

               Source: C
               S       Corporation S i C
                              ti Service Company (M h 2010)
                                                 (March
DOMAIN NAMES
D. Disputes
   4. Common t
   4 C         types of disputes
                      f di   t
      c. “Sucks”/protest cases
         i.
         i UDRP: The majority view is that a domain
            name consisting of a trade-mark and a
            negative term is confusing similar to the
            complainant’s mark
                  l i   t’     k
                            wal-martsucks.com (WIPO D2000-0662)
         ii. .ca: No “sucks” cases but freedom o
              ca o suc s cases…            eedo of
             expression ≠ legitimate interest
                   mckeehomes.ca (CDRP decision No. 00079, 2007)
DOMAIN NAMES
D.   Disputes
     4. Common types of disputes
        d. Famous people cases
           i. UDRP: If a personal name is being used for trade or
              commerce, the Complaint can establish common law
                          ,       p
              rights in the name.
                                        juliaroberts.com (WIPO D2000-0210)
                                          madonna.com (WIPO D2000-0847)
                                                         (               )
                  –   The name must actually be used in trade or
                      commerce to establish trade-mark rights. Merely
                      having a famous name is not sufficient.
                           g
                                             izzyasper.com (WIPO D2001-0540)
                                 megwhitmanforgovernor.com (WIPO D2008-1534)
            ii.   CDRP: No cases, but likely the same result.
DOMAIN NAMES
E. Best practices against cybersquatting
   1.
   1 Be first in time

   2. Diarize & renew registrations
                        g

   3. Register in multiple gTLDs and ccTLDs as
      available/applicable
         il bl /   li bl
     a. .net is the most popular after .com
DOMAIN NAMES
E. Best practices against cybersquatting
   4.
   4 Register most commonly used terms by
      typosquatters
      a. Add most common prefixes and suffixes
         i. “www” is the most common prefix
         ii. “online” is the most common suffix
         iii. “sucks” i NOT th most common suffix
         iii “    k ” is      the    t          ffi
      b. Domain name typo generators
DOMAIN NAMES
F. Scams
   1.
   1 Solicitations
   2. Tasting
   3. Kiting
           g
   4. Front running
   5. Slamming
   6. Social engineering attacks
DOMAIN NAMES
G. Pending developments
   1.
   1 Bespoke gTLDs
   2. IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names)
SOCIAL MEDIA
A. Why is social media a p
       y                     problem for brands?
   1. Unauthorized IP use (including personality rights)
   2. Inappropriate trade-mark use e.g. genercide
   3. Depreciation of goodwill
   4. Harm to reputation
   5. No equivalent of UDRP/CDRP
                        f      /C
   6. Is it possible to use social media without being anti-
      social?
SOCIAL MEDIA
B. Case studies
   1. Facebook: Scrabulous

   2. Facebook: Coke

   3. S
      Second Life: Herman Miller
               f

   4.
   4 Twitter: Tony La Russa & twittersquatting
SOCIAL MEDIA
C. Policies of some social media websites
1. Facebook
   a. PURLs (personalized URLs)
   b. TM registration: no more?
   c. Unauthorized IP use is a breach of Facebook
      “Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (para
       Statement                Responsibilities” (para.
      5(1)). Facebook can remove such content (para.
      5(2)) and terminate the account of repeat IP
      infringers “when appropriate” (para. 5(5)).
   d. Online IP infringement form
SOCIAL MEDIA
C. Policies of some social media websites
2. Twitter
   a. Twittersquatting is prohibited
      i.   “Using a company or business name, logo, or other
           trademark protected materials in a manner that may
           mislead or confuse others or be used for financial gain,
           may be considered trade-mark infringement. Accounts with
           clear INTENT to mislead others will be immediately
           suspended, even if there is no trademark infringement,
           attempts to mislead others are tantamount to business
           impersonation” (Trademark Policy)
SOCIAL MEDIA
C. Policies of some social media websites
2. Twitter
   a. Twittersquatting is prohibited
      ii.    “Impersonation is pretending to be another person or entity
             in order to deceive. Impersonation is a violation of the
             Twitter Rules and may result in permanent account
             suspension” (Impersonation Policy).
      iii.   “Twitter users are allowed to create parody, commentary
             or fan accounts. Accounts with a clear intent to confuse or
             mislead may be permanently suspended” (Impersonation
             Policy).
SOCIAL MEDIA
C. Policies of some social media websites
2. Twitter
   a. Twittersquatting is prohibited
      iv.   An inactive account without a profile picture and no intent
            to mislead typically means no namesquatting or
            impersonation. Twitter will not release inactive or squatted
            user names except when there is trade-mark infringement.
            Attempts to sell, buy or solicit other forms of payment in
            exchange for user names violate Twitter’s TOU and may
            result in permanent account suspension (Namesquatting
            Policy).
SOCIAL MEDIA
C. Policies of some social media websites
2. Twitter
   a. Twittersquatting is prohibited
      v.    Namesquatting and “user name for sale” accounts will be
            permanently suspended. Attempts to sell or extort other
            forms of payment in exchange for user names will result in
            account suspension.
      vi.   Accounts that are inactive for more than 6 months can be
            cancelled without further notice.
SOCIAL MEDIA
C. Policies of some social media websites
2. Twitter
   b. Twitter’s test to determine namesquatting
      i.     The number of accounts created;
      ii.    Creating accounts for the purpose of preventing others
             from using those account names;
                      g
      iii.   Creating accounts for the purpose of selling those acounts;
      iv.    Using feeds of third party content to update and maintain
             accounts under the names of those third parties.
   c. Verified accounts
   d. Complaint mechanism
SOCIAL MEDIA
C. Policies of some social media websites
3. Second Life
   a. You will not take any action or upload, post, e-mail
      or otherwise transit Content that infringes or violates
      any third party rights (Terms of Service, para. 4.1).
SOCIAL MEDIA
C. Policies of some social media websites
4. MySpace
   a. Users cannot post what MySpace deems in its sole
      discretion as “prohibited content”, which includes
      content that violates or attempts to violate trade-
      mark rights (Terms & Conditions, para. 8.16).
   b. Users cannot upload, embed, post, e-mail, transit or
      otherwise make available any material that infringes
      any t d
          trade-mark (T
                     k (Terms & Conditions, para. 9)
                                  C diti             9).
      Complainants can be sent to MySpace (Terms &
      Conditions, para. 9).
                  p       )
SOCIAL MEDIA
D. Brand protection strategies & best practices
          p                  g              p
   1. Proactive registrations: register trade-marks and
      trade-names with each social media site bearing in
      mind th t i
        i d that inactive accounts may be cancelled per
                     ti          t       b       ll d
      TOU.
   2. Register combinations, permutations and
      typosquatting variations of trade-marks as user
      names.
   3. Review and understand each social media site’s
   3 R i          d d t d           h     i l  di it ’
      TOU.
   4. Police your marks on social media sites.
SOCIAL MEDIA
D. Brand protection strategies & best practices
           p                g             p
   5. Address social media in trade-mark licenses and
      employment agreements.
   6. If running a social media site, address IP
      infringement and consequences in TOU.
OTHER USES
A. Key word advertising
      y                   g
   1. A key word is a word (e.g. a trade-mark) used to find
      documents on the Internet
   2. While there is no Canadian case law on this issues,
      using a trade-mark as a key word with services is
      arguably use; not likely with wares.
   3. Google AdWords
      a. Prohibits infringement
      b. While has a complaint mechanism, will not
         investigate use of trade-marks as keywords in a
         number of countries, including Canada
                     countries           Canada.
OTHER USES
B. Metatags
          g
   1. Words in html code which are invisible to the use but
      are visible to search engines so the engines can
      decide h th to include
      d id whether t i l d a website i search
                                      b it in      h
      results.
   2. Questionable whether there is trade-mark use, since
                                     trade mark
      trade-mark use must be visible.
                                   Playboy Enterprises Inc. v. Germain
                                            (
                                            (1987)16 C.P.R. (3d) 517
                                                   )           ( )
OTHER USES
B. Metatags
          g
   3. Possibly common law passing off
   4. The Canadian cases which have dealt with this
      issue ruled in plaintiff’s favour without deciding
      whether having a trade-mark in a metatag is trade-
      mark use.
      British Columbia Automobile Association v. Office and Professional Employee’s
                                                       International Union, Local 378
                                              (2001), 10 C.P.R. (4th) 423 (B.C. S.C.)
OTHER USES
C. Pop up advertising
      p p             g
   1. Prompted by Internet searches.
   2. Automatic, invisible and behind the scenes, like
      metatags.
   3. No reported Canadian cases.
   4.
   4 Unlikely a breach of trade mark rights since no
                           trade-mark rights,
      visible trade-mark use.
   5. Possible common law passing off claim.
                              p    g
SOME INTERNET RESOURCES
ICANN: www.icann.org.g
Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA):
www.cira.ca.
 WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center: Domain Name
       A bit ti      d M di ti C t      D     i N
 Dispute Resolution: www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains.
                                 g
 Internet Archive: www.archive.org.
 Alexa: www.alexa.com.
 Domain Tools: www.domaintools.com.
Thank you…Questions?


             Lorraine Fleck
Barrister & Solicitor, Trade-mark Agent
            Hoffer Adler LLP
        lfleck@hofferadler.com

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Trade-marks & the Internet: Protecting Brands on the Internet and in Social Media

  • 1. Trade-marks & the Internet Protecting Brands on the Internet and in Social Media d i S i l M di LAW 451 Trade-marks Faculty of Law, Queen’s University y , y Lorraine M. Fleck March 18, 2010
  • 2. OUTLINE I. Domain Names A. What are they? B. Types C. How do you get a domain name? D. D Disputes E. Strategies F. F Scams G. Pending developments
  • 3. OUTLINE II. Social Media A. The problem B. Case studies C. Policies of some social media websites D. D Strategies
  • 4. OUTLINE III.Other Uses of Trade-marks on the Internet A. Key word advertising B. Metatags C. C Pop up advertising IV.Some Internet Resources V. Questions V Q ti
  • 5. DOMAIN NAMES A. What are they? y A more friendly form of a physical address on the Internet Like a “vanity number” E.g. the E th IP address 69 63 181 11 t k dd 69.63.181.11 takes you to…
  • 7. DOMAIN NAMES B. Types yp 1. gTLDs (generic Top Level Domains) a. a Unrestricted .com .net net .org .info b. Restricted .biz
  • 8. DOMAIN NAMES B. Types yp 1. gTLDs c. c Sponsored restricted gTLDs a k a sTLDs a.k.a. (sponsored Top Level Domains) .areo .asia .cat .coop .edu .gov .int .jobs j .mil .mobi .museum .name .pro .tel .travel
  • 9. DOMAIN NAMES B. Types yp 2. ccTLDs (country code Top Level Domains) .ca (Canada) .us (U.S.A.) .ie (Ireland) ie .uk (U K ) uk (U.K.) .fr (France) .jp (Japan)
  • 10. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you g them? y get 1. First come, first served 2. 2 Do a WHOIS search a. ca WHOIS: http://whois.cira.ca/public/ 3. Use 3 U an accredited registrar dit d i t
  • 11. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you g them? y get 4. Satisfy any applicable presence requirements a. .ca Canadian Presence Requirements i. i Canadian citizen ii. Permanent resident iii. Legal representative of (i) or (ii) above (executor, administrator or other legal representative but NOT a lawyer acting in another capacity)
  • 12. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you g them? y get 4. Satisfy any applicable presence requirements a. .ca Canadian Presence Requirements iv. iv Corporation v. Trust vi. Partnership vii. Association viii.Trade union
  • 13. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you g them? y get 4. Satisfy any applicable presence requirements a. .ca Canadian Presence Requirements ix. ix Political party x. Educational institution xi. Library, archive or museum xii. Hospital xiii. Her Majesty the Queen
  • 14. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you g them? y get 4. Satisfy any applicable presence requirements a. .ca Canadian Presence Requirements xiv. xiv Indian band xv. Aboriginal people xvi.Owner of a registered Canadian TM xvii.Holder of an official mark xviii.Government
  • 15. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you g them? y get 5. Privacy shielding a. a Controversial b. .ca WHOIS policy i. Individuals ii. Businesses/organizations
  • 16. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you g them? y get 5. Privacy shielding b. .ca WHOIS policy p y i. Interested Party Contact Procedure ii. Request for Disclosure of Registrant Information Registered copyright, patent or TM Registered business or trade name trade-name Use of personal information to commit crime or identity theft y
  • 17. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you g them? y get 6. Pick your term a. ca: a .ca: 1 – 10 years b. .com: 1 – 10 years
  • 18. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you g them? y get 7. Obtaining rights a. Possession vs. ownership p b. Can rights be acquired? i. Yes for services A trade-mark is deemed to be used in association with services if it is used or displayed in the performance or advertising of those services. f d ti i f th i Trade-marks Act, subs. 4(2)
  • 19. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you get them? 7. Obtaining rights b. Can rights be acquired? ii. It d ii I depends f wares d for A trade-mark is deemed to be used in association with wares if, at the time of the transfer of the property in or p p p y possession of the wares, in the normal course of trade, it is marked on the wares themselves or on the packages in which they are distributed or it is in any other manner so associated with the wares that notice of the association is then given to the person to whom the property or possession is transferred. Trade-marks Act, subs 4(1) Act subs.
  • 20. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you get them? 7. Obtaining rights b. Can rights be acquired? ii. It d ii I depends f wares d for A passive website is NOT use with wares wares. Pro-C Ltd. v Computer City, Inc. (2001), 55 O.R. (3d) 577 (Ont. C.A.)
  • 21. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you get them? 8. Trade-marks Office Practice A trade-mark consisting of or containing one of d k i i f i i f .com, .ca, .fr, .uk or .us is unregistrable under Trade- marks Act para. 12(1)(b) if the trade-mark when p ( )( ) considered in its totality, as a matter of first impression in association with the wares and/or services claimed in the application is clearly descriptive or deceptively misdescriptive.
  • 22. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you get them? 8. Trade-marks Office Practice Where a trade-mark i i totality i registrable and Wh d k in its li is i bl d contains one of .com, .ca, .fr., .uk or .us, a disclaimer of gTLD or ccTLD is required if the gTLD or ccTLD g q g when considered in association with the wares and/or services, forms a portion that is not independently registrable within the meaning of Trade-marks Act para. 12(1)(b). [Note: disclaimers no longer required as of August 15, 2007].
  • 23. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you get them? 8. Trade-marks Office Practice If the gTLD or ccTLD i d h TLD TLD is deceptively misdescriptive i l i d i i and forms a significant part of the trade-mark, the mark in its totality is deceptively misdescriptive and y p y p therefore unregistrable having regard under Trade- marks Act para. 12(1)(b). Practice Notice: Descriptiveness and Terms Such as .com, .ca, .fr, .uk & .us CIPO (September 1, 1999)
  • 24. DOMAIN NAMES C. How do you get them? 9. What happens when two people have rights in the same/confusingly similar domain name? E.g. imperial.com E g imperial com for margarine vs gasoline vs. “First in time” The lesson: register early!
  • 25. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes a. Cease & desist letters i. May i M not work k ii. Puts squatter on notice, which can be good or bad Notice Musical chairs Purchase offer iii. Send to Registrar?
  • 26. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes b. Administrative proceedings Useful when registrant is privacy shielded or outside of Canada making enforcement of a Canada, judgment difficult/impossible
  • 27. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes b. Administrative proceedings i. Uniform Di i U if Dispute R Resolution P li (UDRP) l i Policy (UDRP): gTLDs such as .com, .org ii. ii CIRA Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (CDRP): .ca
  • 28. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes p p b. Administrative proceedings iii. Procedural overview Complaint fil d C l i t filed Registrant ‘s response Panel appointed Decision iv. Parties Complainant (must meet Canadian Presence requirements in CDRP) Registrant NOT Registrar
  • 29. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. 1 Responses to disputes b. Administrative proceedings v. Arbitrator UDRP – WIPO, National Arbitration Forum (NAF) – Either 1 panelist or 3 panelists; 3 panelists if parties disagree on number of panelists CDRP: Resolution Canada, BC International Commercial Arbitration Centre (BCICAC) – Initially 3 panelists, can be reduced to 1 panelist if no response
  • 30. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. 1 Responses to disputes b. Administrative proceedings vi. Evidence Documentation Affidavit not required
  • 31. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes b. Administrative proceedings vii. F ii Fees UDRP: split between the parties WIPO Fees (USD) No. of Domain Names 1 Panelist 3 Panelists 1-5 $1500 $4000 6 - 10 $2000 $5000 > 10 To be determined To be determined
  • 32. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes b. Administrative proceedings vii. F ii Fees CDRP: bore solely by Complaint BCICAC Fees (CDN) No. of Domains 1 Panelist 3 Panelists Initial Fee 1 $1750 + GST $3000 + GST $4000 + GST 2-5 $2250 + GST $4500 + GST $5500 + GST 6 - 10 $2500 + GST $5250 + GST $6250 + GST > 10 To be determined To be determined To be determined
  • 33. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes b. Administrative proceedings viii. A iii Appeals l Available expressly under UDRP Not precluded under CDRP ix. Can also bring simultaneous court proceedings
  • 34. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes c. Tests i. i UDRP 1. Disputed domain name is identical/ confusingly similar to a trade-mark or service mark in which the complainant h rights; l i t has i ht 2. Registrant has no rights/legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; AND 3. The domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.
  • 35. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes c. Tests i. i UDRP Bad faith includes circumstances where the registrant has: – Registered or acquired the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting or otherwise transferring the selling domain name to the complainant or a competitor of the complainant for valuable consideration in excess of registrant’s documented costs directly related to the domain name; – Registered the domain name in order to prevent the owner of the trade-mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided the registrant has engaged in a pattern of such conduct;
  • 36. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes c. Tests i. i UDRP Bad faith includes circumstances where the registrant has: – Registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; OR – By using the domain name, the registrant has intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to its web site or other on-line location by creating a likelihood of on line confusion with the complainant’s trade-mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation or endorsement of the registrant’s web site or location or products or services on same.
  • 37. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes c. Tests i. i UDRP Defence of registrant’s rights/legitimate interest includes demonstration of the following: – Before notice of dispute registrant used/made demonstrable dispute, preparations to use the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods and services; – Registrant has been commonly known by the domain name (even if it does not have trade mark or service rights); OR trade-mark – Registrant is making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert consumers or to tarnish the trade-mark.
  • 38. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes c. Tests ii. ii CDRP 1. Registrant’s name is “confusingly similar” to a mark in which the complainant had rights prior to the date f d d t of domain name registration and continues t i i t ti d ti to have rights; 2. The registrant has no “legitimate interest” in the domain name; AND d i 3. The registrant has registered and is using the domain name in “bad faith”.
  • 39. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes c. Tests ii. ii CDRP “Mark”: alphanumeric or punctuation elements of unregistered or CIPO registered trade-mark, certification mark, s. 9(1)(n) marks and t d d trade-names. “Confusingly similar”: a domain name is confusingly similar to a mark if the domain name so nearly resembles the mark in appearance, sound or th id d the ideas suggested b th mark as t b t d by the k to be likely mistaken for the mark.
  • 40. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes c. Tests ii. ii CDRP “Rights”: Complainant has rights in the mark if – For an unregistered trade-mark, certification mark or trade- name, name the mark has been used in Canada by the complainant, its predecessor in title or a licensor of the complainant or its predecessor; – For a registered trade-mark, the mark is registered in CIPO in the name of the complainant, its predecessor in title or a complainant licensor of the complainant or its predecessor in title; – For a s. 9(1)(n) mark, public notice of the adoption and use of the trade-mark was given at the request of the complainant. l i t
  • 41. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. Responses to disputes c. Tests ii. ii CDRP “Bad faith”: defined exclusively as 1. Registering the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, licensing or otherwise transferring the registration to the complainant or the complainant’s licensor or licensee of the mark or to a competitor of the complainant in excess of the registrant’s actual costs in registering th d f th i t t’ t l t i i t i the domaini name or acquiring the registration;
  • 42. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. 1 Responses to disputes c. Tests ii. CDRP “Bad faith”: defined exclusively as 2. Registering the domain name or acquiring the registration to prevent the complainant, or the complainant’s licensee or complainant s licensor, from registering its mark as a domain name provided that the registrant has engaged in a pattern of such conduct; OR 3. Registering the domain name primarily for disrupting the business of the complainant, the complainant’s licensor or licensee, who is a competitor of the registrant.
  • 43. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. 1 Responses to disputes c. Tests ii. CDRP For defence of registrant’s rights/legitimate interest, registrant must show one of the following existed prior to receipt of complaint: – Domain name was a mark, registrant used mark in good faith and registrant had rights in the mark; – Registrant used domain name in Canada in good faith in association with any wares, services or business and the domain name was clearly descriptive in Canada in English or French of (1) character or quality of the wares services or wares, business, (2) the conditions of, or the persons employed in, production of the wares, performance of the services or operation of the business, or (3) the place of the origin of the wares, wares services or business;
  • 44. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. 1 Responses to disputes c. Tests ii. CDRP For defence of registrant’s rights/legitimate interest, registrant must show one of the following existed prior to receipt of complaint: – Registrant used the domain name in Canada in good faith in association with any wares services or business and the wares, domain name was understood in Canada to be the generic name thereof in any language; – Registrant used the domain name in Canada in good faith in association with a non commercial activity including without non-commercial including, limitation, criticism, review or news reporting;
  • 45. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. 1 Responses to disputes c. Tests ii. CDRP For defence of registrant’s rights/legitimate interest, registrant must show one of the following existed prior to receipt of complaint: – The domain name comprised the legal name of the registrant or was a name surname or other reference by name, which the registrant was commonly identified; OR – The domain name was the geographical name of the location of the registrant’s non-commercial activity or place of business.
  • 46. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 1. 1 Responses to disputes d. Remedies i. Transfer ii. Cancellation iii. CDRP only: up to $5000 CDN in costs of unwarranted proceeding t d di
  • 47. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 2. 2 Purchase a. Valid option if not strong case b. Pricing may match or exceed UDRP/CDRP fees g y
  • 48. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 3. 3 Courts Option if domain name ties in with other trade-mark breach or other causes of action and the judgment is likely to be enforced a. Trade-mark a Trade mark causes of action i. Imitation (Trade-marks Act s. 19) ii. Infringement (Trade-marks Act s. 20) iii. Passing off iv. Depreciation of goodwill (Trade-marks Act s. 22)
  • 49. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 4. 4 Common types of disputes a. Infringement/passing off i. Cybersquatters: Someone who deliberately acquires a domain name to prevent others with rights in the domain name from using it, or to hold the domain for ransom ii. Tests same as in other trade-mark disputes ii T i h d k di iii. Using a domain name which is similar to a trade-mark may violate the trade-mark owner’s rights if the domain name use results in misrepresentation or confusion lt i i t ti f i Tele-Direct (Publications) Inc. v. Canadian Business Online (1998), 83 C.P.R. 3d (34)
  • 50. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 4. 4 Common types of disputes a. Infringement/passing off iii. Difficult to establish a breach of trade-mark rights when someone uses a domain name containing a trade-mark merely as an address, without selling goods, performing services or operating a business which would give rise to confusion Sprint Communications Company L.P. v. Merlin International Communications Inc. (2000), 9 C.P.R. (4th) 307 (F.C. T.D.). iv. iv Conversion v. A passive website is NOT use with wares Pro-C Ltd. v Computer City, Inc. (2001), (2001) 55 O R (3d) 577 (O t C A ) O.R. (Ont. C.A.)
  • 51. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 4. 4 Common types of disputes b. Typosquatting i. Cybersquatting which relies on typographical errors made by Internet users ii. Typos in the actual trade-mark e.g. xample.com vs. example.com iii. Also the addition of prefixes (e.g. wwwbrand.com) and suffixes (e.g. brandcom.com) iv. Adding prefixes/suffixes to a trade-mark does not mean the domain name is no longer confusingly similar
  • 52. DOMAIN NAMES Most Common Prefixes Used by Cybersquatters Prefix Rank www 1 my 2 e 3 i 4 buy 5 shop 6 the 7 new 8 ww 9 go 10 Source: Corporation Service Company (March 2010)
  • 53. DOMAIN NAMES Most Common Prefixes Used by Cybersquatters Prefix Rank online 1 s 2 usa 3 tv 4 sucks 5 store 6 shop 7 com 8 world 9 e 10 Source: C S Corporation S i C ti Service Company (M h 2010) (March
  • 54. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 4. Common t 4 C types of disputes f di t c. “Sucks”/protest cases i. i UDRP: The majority view is that a domain name consisting of a trade-mark and a negative term is confusing similar to the complainant’s mark l i t’ k wal-martsucks.com (WIPO D2000-0662) ii. .ca: No “sucks” cases but freedom o ca o suc s cases… eedo of expression ≠ legitimate interest mckeehomes.ca (CDRP decision No. 00079, 2007)
  • 55. DOMAIN NAMES D. Disputes 4. Common types of disputes d. Famous people cases i. UDRP: If a personal name is being used for trade or commerce, the Complaint can establish common law , p rights in the name. juliaroberts.com (WIPO D2000-0210) madonna.com (WIPO D2000-0847) ( ) – The name must actually be used in trade or commerce to establish trade-mark rights. Merely having a famous name is not sufficient. g izzyasper.com (WIPO D2001-0540) megwhitmanforgovernor.com (WIPO D2008-1534) ii. CDRP: No cases, but likely the same result.
  • 56. DOMAIN NAMES E. Best practices against cybersquatting 1. 1 Be first in time 2. Diarize & renew registrations g 3. Register in multiple gTLDs and ccTLDs as available/applicable il bl / li bl a. .net is the most popular after .com
  • 57. DOMAIN NAMES E. Best practices against cybersquatting 4. 4 Register most commonly used terms by typosquatters a. Add most common prefixes and suffixes i. “www” is the most common prefix ii. “online” is the most common suffix iii. “sucks” i NOT th most common suffix iii “ k ” is the t ffi b. Domain name typo generators
  • 58. DOMAIN NAMES F. Scams 1. 1 Solicitations 2. Tasting 3. Kiting g 4. Front running 5. Slamming 6. Social engineering attacks
  • 59. DOMAIN NAMES G. Pending developments 1. 1 Bespoke gTLDs 2. IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names)
  • 60. SOCIAL MEDIA A. Why is social media a p y problem for brands? 1. Unauthorized IP use (including personality rights) 2. Inappropriate trade-mark use e.g. genercide 3. Depreciation of goodwill 4. Harm to reputation 5. No equivalent of UDRP/CDRP f /C 6. Is it possible to use social media without being anti- social?
  • 61. SOCIAL MEDIA B. Case studies 1. Facebook: Scrabulous 2. Facebook: Coke 3. S Second Life: Herman Miller f 4. 4 Twitter: Tony La Russa & twittersquatting
  • 62. SOCIAL MEDIA C. Policies of some social media websites 1. Facebook a. PURLs (personalized URLs) b. TM registration: no more? c. Unauthorized IP use is a breach of Facebook “Statement of Rights and Responsibilities (para Statement Responsibilities” (para. 5(1)). Facebook can remove such content (para. 5(2)) and terminate the account of repeat IP infringers “when appropriate” (para. 5(5)). d. Online IP infringement form
  • 63. SOCIAL MEDIA C. Policies of some social media websites 2. Twitter a. Twittersquatting is prohibited i. “Using a company or business name, logo, or other trademark protected materials in a manner that may mislead or confuse others or be used for financial gain, may be considered trade-mark infringement. Accounts with clear INTENT to mislead others will be immediately suspended, even if there is no trademark infringement, attempts to mislead others are tantamount to business impersonation” (Trademark Policy)
  • 64. SOCIAL MEDIA C. Policies of some social media websites 2. Twitter a. Twittersquatting is prohibited ii. “Impersonation is pretending to be another person or entity in order to deceive. Impersonation is a violation of the Twitter Rules and may result in permanent account suspension” (Impersonation Policy). iii. “Twitter users are allowed to create parody, commentary or fan accounts. Accounts with a clear intent to confuse or mislead may be permanently suspended” (Impersonation Policy).
  • 65. SOCIAL MEDIA C. Policies of some social media websites 2. Twitter a. Twittersquatting is prohibited iv. An inactive account without a profile picture and no intent to mislead typically means no namesquatting or impersonation. Twitter will not release inactive or squatted user names except when there is trade-mark infringement. Attempts to sell, buy or solicit other forms of payment in exchange for user names violate Twitter’s TOU and may result in permanent account suspension (Namesquatting Policy).
  • 66. SOCIAL MEDIA C. Policies of some social media websites 2. Twitter a. Twittersquatting is prohibited v. Namesquatting and “user name for sale” accounts will be permanently suspended. Attempts to sell or extort other forms of payment in exchange for user names will result in account suspension. vi. Accounts that are inactive for more than 6 months can be cancelled without further notice.
  • 67. SOCIAL MEDIA C. Policies of some social media websites 2. Twitter b. Twitter’s test to determine namesquatting i. The number of accounts created; ii. Creating accounts for the purpose of preventing others from using those account names; g iii. Creating accounts for the purpose of selling those acounts; iv. Using feeds of third party content to update and maintain accounts under the names of those third parties. c. Verified accounts d. Complaint mechanism
  • 68. SOCIAL MEDIA C. Policies of some social media websites 3. Second Life a. You will not take any action or upload, post, e-mail or otherwise transit Content that infringes or violates any third party rights (Terms of Service, para. 4.1).
  • 69. SOCIAL MEDIA C. Policies of some social media websites 4. MySpace a. Users cannot post what MySpace deems in its sole discretion as “prohibited content”, which includes content that violates or attempts to violate trade- mark rights (Terms & Conditions, para. 8.16). b. Users cannot upload, embed, post, e-mail, transit or otherwise make available any material that infringes any t d trade-mark (T k (Terms & Conditions, para. 9) C diti 9). Complainants can be sent to MySpace (Terms & Conditions, para. 9). p )
  • 70. SOCIAL MEDIA D. Brand protection strategies & best practices p g p 1. Proactive registrations: register trade-marks and trade-names with each social media site bearing in mind th t i i d that inactive accounts may be cancelled per ti t b ll d TOU. 2. Register combinations, permutations and typosquatting variations of trade-marks as user names. 3. Review and understand each social media site’s 3 R i d d t d h i l di it ’ TOU. 4. Police your marks on social media sites.
  • 71. SOCIAL MEDIA D. Brand protection strategies & best practices p g p 5. Address social media in trade-mark licenses and employment agreements. 6. If running a social media site, address IP infringement and consequences in TOU.
  • 72. OTHER USES A. Key word advertising y g 1. A key word is a word (e.g. a trade-mark) used to find documents on the Internet 2. While there is no Canadian case law on this issues, using a trade-mark as a key word with services is arguably use; not likely with wares. 3. Google AdWords a. Prohibits infringement b. While has a complaint mechanism, will not investigate use of trade-marks as keywords in a number of countries, including Canada countries Canada.
  • 73. OTHER USES B. Metatags g 1. Words in html code which are invisible to the use but are visible to search engines so the engines can decide h th to include d id whether t i l d a website i search b it in h results. 2. Questionable whether there is trade-mark use, since trade mark trade-mark use must be visible. Playboy Enterprises Inc. v. Germain ( (1987)16 C.P.R. (3d) 517 ) ( )
  • 74. OTHER USES B. Metatags g 3. Possibly common law passing off 4. The Canadian cases which have dealt with this issue ruled in plaintiff’s favour without deciding whether having a trade-mark in a metatag is trade- mark use. British Columbia Automobile Association v. Office and Professional Employee’s International Union, Local 378 (2001), 10 C.P.R. (4th) 423 (B.C. S.C.)
  • 75. OTHER USES C. Pop up advertising p p g 1. Prompted by Internet searches. 2. Automatic, invisible and behind the scenes, like metatags. 3. No reported Canadian cases. 4. 4 Unlikely a breach of trade mark rights since no trade-mark rights, visible trade-mark use. 5. Possible common law passing off claim. p g
  • 76. SOME INTERNET RESOURCES ICANN: www.icann.org.g Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA): www.cira.ca. WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center: Domain Name A bit ti d M di ti C t D i N Dispute Resolution: www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains. g Internet Archive: www.archive.org. Alexa: www.alexa.com. Domain Tools: www.domaintools.com.
  • 77. Thank you…Questions? Lorraine Fleck Barrister & Solicitor, Trade-mark Agent Hoffer Adler LLP lfleck@hofferadler.com