Hello again! In Part 3 of our installment on domain names we cover the Trademark Act and how it can be used to protect your online brand.
We discuss how the Trademark Act can be used to defend yourself from domain names and websites that infringe on your brand name or other intellectual property. There are three times you can sue for domain name trademark violations, including trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and cyberpiracy.
We go over the elements of each cause of action and discuss how these legal remedies can be used to protect your online brand. Keep in mind, the infringing website must be involved in commerce in order to file a lawsuit for trademark violations. We also discuss jurisdictional issues and where you may be able to bring a lawsuit involving domain names.
We also discuss potential defenses to the Trademark Act, in case it is your brand that is being targeted. The main defenses are parody and fair use, which we discuss in depth. The class also delves into what types of remedies are available should you win an online Trademark Act violation.
Stay tuned for our next addition to "Keeping it Legit: Legal Issues in Website Management" - a course designed to enable webmasters and online brand owners to understand the legal environment they operate within.
