Introduction
A Briefest of Histories

Further Information:

• The legal issues affecting a new brand name
• The legal issues affecting a new logo
• The legal issues affecting a new design
• Protecting a new brand name or new logo
• Protecting new designs
• Protecting ideas
• A Trade Mark Attorney
• Enforcement
• Defending a trade mark
• Defending other IP rights
• Delimitation of rights
• Licensing
• Franchising
• Exploitation of IP rights
• Exploitation of Intellectual Property rights: raising funds and securitisation
• Intellectual Property Rights as investments
• Acquisition and transfer
• Registration of transactions
• E-commerce and the internet
• Trade Marks and the internet/e-commerce
• Domain names, “ownership” of a name and cyber-squatting
• Disputing domain names – Domain name disputes do not have to go to court, and indeed are
usually resolved using far less expensive and cumbersome procedures away from the courts. An
international policy laid down by ICANN (The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
adopted by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has for some time formed the
basis of the local rules of a number of countries. WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) is a
principal operator of the ICANN policy. Similar national policies have been developed and are
operated by a number of other countries (in the UK by Nominet). Generally such policies do save time
and money and avoid the necessity of Court proceedings. In most cases there must be an
enforceable pre-existing trade mark right to rely on. The ownership of pre-existing trade mark rights
can be used against the wrongful use of domain names as instruments of deception (for example to
direct business away from the trade mark owner), but the disputed domain name is usually required to
relate to the country where the trade mark right exists and that use should at least fall within the
criteria applicable in that country to commence proceedings under the local domain name dispute
resolution policy.
• Websites and e-commerce – legal issues
• Contractual issues in e-commerce
• The legal issues affecting advertising
• Intellectual Property and Insurance
• Intellectual Property and Insolvency

© 2008 Decisis Limited.