Domain name disputes 2007 update
WIPO reports that in 2007, a record 2,156 complaints alleging cybersquatting - or the
abusive registration of trademarks on the Internet - were filed with
the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Arbitration and
Mediation Center (Center), representing an 18% increase over 2006 and a
48% increase over 2005.
WIPO parties have settled a quarter of all cases without a panel
decision. Of the remainder, 85% of panel decisions have ordered
transfer of the domain names in question to the complainant and 15% of
the complaints were denied, leaving the names in the possession of the
registration holder.
The top five sectors for complainant business activity were
Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals, Banking and Finance, Internet and
IT, Retail, and Entertainment.
Posted 31st March 2008
by David Jacobson
in Legal, Web/Tech
Domain Name Tasting
Domain name tasting exploits the fact that someone registering a
domain can keep it for up to five days and then return it for free. Some operators are using that grace period to test domain
names for marketability. Visitors find an empty site.
A proposal has been put to ICANN, which oversees the grace period, to limit the number of refunds any
registrar can claim on behalf of customers.
It wants the operators of generic top level domains (gTLDs) such
as .com or .org to be restricted in the refunds they can offer. It
has proposed that they only be allowed to offer refunds to 10% of
the newly registered domain names in any given month. If that
number is under 50 they will be allowed to refund up to 50
fees.
Posted 22nd March 2008
by David Jacobson
in Legal, Web/Tech
Australian Startup Carnival
VS Consulting has hosted the first Australian Startup Carnival which assessed 28 Australian tech startups.
There is a detailed profile of each of the contestants including their sources of funding and business model.
3 businesses were named winners by an independent judging panel.
via Ross Dawson.
Posted 21st March 2008
by David Jacobson
in Web/Tech
Website designer fails in action against former employee
In Dais Studio Pty Ltd v Bullet Creative Pty
Ltd [2007] FCA 2054 Dais failed in its action against a former employee it accused of copying without authorisation 2 utility files from its website design program.
Dais sued for infringement of copyright, to
restrain the unauthorised use of confidential information,
for breach of
contract and for breach of certain provisions of the Corporations Act
2001 (Cth).
Although the judge concluded that each of the 2 small files was a computer program,
and therefore a literary
work capable of being protected by copyright, Dais failed to prove they were a
substantial part of the source code as a whole in their program.
Posted 2nd March 2008
by David Jacobson
in Legal
