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Internet Law
Domain name disputes involving alleged bad-faith registration are typically resolved using the Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy (UDRP) process developed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Critics claim that the UDRP process favors large corporations and that their decisions often go beyond the rules and intent of the dispute resolution policy.
In literature, you may find “contracts” described as promises, or groups of promises, which the law will enforce, or the performance of which is in some way recognized as a duty. An enforceable contract may be established by a bargain in which there is some manifestation of mutual agreement, or, in the case of the sale of goods, a contract can be made in any manner sufficient to show agreement, including conduct by both parties which recognizes the existence of such a contract.
Based on the provisions of the Lanham Act, trademark infringement occurs when someone uses in commerce any word, term, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof, or any false designation of origin, false or misleading description of fact, or false or misleading representation of fact, which:
- is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistakes, or to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association of such person with another person, or as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of his or her goods, services, or commercial activities by another person, or
- in commercial advertising or promotion, misrepresents the nature, characterstics, qualities, or geographic origin of his or her or another person’s goods, services, or commercial activities.
The Lanham Act, which is the set of U.S. laws related to trademarks, defines the term “trademark” as a word, name, symbol, device, or any combination thereof used by a person to identify and distinguish his or her goods from those manufactured or sold by others and also to indicate the source of the goods.
While trademarks identify “goods” – usually, tangible products – service marks identify services. In many cases trademarks and service marks are interchangeably referred to as trademarks, or simply marks.
Copyright protects original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. This definition is directly taken from the U.S. Copyright Act.
