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 2  4 January 2003
Features:
Domain Names -
In Legal & General Group plc v Image Plus, a WIPO Panel by a 2-1 majority agreed that the registrant of a protest site ‘legal-and-general.com’ was acting fairly.
Trademarks -
US Appeal Court for Seventh Circuit gave judgment allowing traders to sell second-hand goods from a website incorporating the products’ trade mark. The Court of Appeal refused to extend the principle of dilution to allow trade mark owners to prevent their trade marks from becoming a generic term for a product.
Disability -
Access Now Inc & Robert Gumson complaint for injunctive and declaratory relief under the Americans with Disabilities Act), on the basis that Southwest Airlines internet website at violated the ADA. Complaint dismissed as website did not fall within scope of ADA.
Jurisdiction -
Two cases, Dow Jones & Company Inc v Gutnick from Australia, Young v New Haven Advocate & others from the United States show markedly distinct approaches to the question of the jurisdiction of internet publication.
Online Gambling -
Mastercard International Inc in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Under this judgement, on a plain reading of the statute, casino gambling was held not to fall within the definition of a ‘sporting game or contest’ which would appear to have grave consequences for subsequent actions to prosecute casino or lottery businesses operating over the internet.
Email Retention -
The Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange and NASD announced joint actions against Deutsche Bank Securities Inc, Goldman, Sachs & Co, Morgan Stanley & Co Inc, Salomon Smith Barney Inc & US Bankcorp Piper Jaffray Inc. The Respondent broker dealers, for violations of record keeping requirements in respect of email communications.
Jursidiction -
In Menashe Business Mercantile Ltd v William Hill Organisation Ltd the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of Jacob J in the Patents Court (reported in ECLR [2002] 20-23) that each and every element of a computer system need not necessarily be situated in the jurisdiction in order to give rise to infringement of the patented system.
Trademarks -
Arsenal Football Club plc v Matthew Reed. Laddie J in the High Court refuses to follow the ECJ decision.
Unsolicited email -
In America Online Inc v CN Productions Inc a US District Court has awarded AOL damages of $6.9million and reaffirmed an earlier injunction prohibiting unsolicited email.
Data Protection -
The ECJ Advocate General’s Opinion in this Nowegian case, Bodil Lindqvist v Kammaraklagaren, if followed by the ECJ, creates an exemption for certain data processing activities.
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