Electronic registration mark

Electronic registration mark

An electronic registration mark is a proposed category of trademark that would restrict the use of trademarked words and phrases in online advertising.

The State of Utah proposed this in response to trademark owners' claims that online advertisers have abused trademarked terms. Some online advertisers, particularly search engines, allow trademarked keywords to generate advertisements for a trademark holder’s competitors. [ cite web| url=http://www.google.com/tm_complaint_adwords.html#1|title=Adwords Trademark Complaint Procedure| work=Google|accessdate=2007-04-19 ] Several corporations have sued search engines to stop this practice, claiming that it violates United States trademark law. In most of these cases, courts have ruled that traditional trademark law, as currently written, does not restrict advertisers’ ability to use trademarked terms to trigger advertisements. [cite web|url=http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/geicogoogleaug2005.pdf|title=Government Employees Insurance Co. v. Google, Inc., No. 1:04cv507 (E.D. Va. Aug. 8, 2005)|work=ericgoldman.org | accessdate=2007-04-19] [cite web| url=http://claranet.scu.edu/tempfiles/tmp28538/rescuecomgoogle.pdf|title= Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc., No. 5:04-CV-1055 (N.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2006)| work=Claranet (Warning: 1.7mb PDF file)| accessdate=2007-04-19] [cite web| url=http://allwoodenterprises.com/Decision.pdf|title= Google v. American Blinds & Wallpaper Factory, 2005 WL 832398 (N.D. Cal. March 30, 2005)| work=Allwood Enterprises| accessdate=2007-04-19]

The [http://le.utah.gov/~2007/bills/sbillamd/sb0236.htm Utah Trademark Protection Act] created the electronic registration mark. Under this now defunct law, trademark holders could have restricted the use of its registered trademarks to generate advertisements for products that compete directly with the trademarked product. The owner of the mark could have sought redress from two parties: The competitor that purchased the advertisement, and the website that displayed the keyword-generated advertisement. This law applied only to internet pages viewed within the State of Utah. The law had instructed the state to create a searchable database of electronic registration marks and to provide access to this database free of charge. This became Utah law in 2007 but was repealed in 2008 before implementation.

No other states have established electronic registration mark laws, and the federal government's trademark law does not clearly address how it applies to online keyword searching. Judges in France have consistently upheld rulings that French trademark law bans the sale of trademarked search terms in keyword advertising for any website viewed from within France. [cite web| url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/03/17/HNgooglefranceadwords_1.html|title=Google France loses appeal in AdWords trademark dispute, March 17, 2005| work=Infoworld| accessdate=2007-09-24]

Controversy

Critics find several flaws with electronic registration marks. They argue that restricting the keywords that advertisers can use violates the First Amendment. Another issue concerns an advertiser’s ability to determine whether a web page is being viewed in Utah or elsewhere: Because of this ambiguity, the law may be vulnerable to Dormant Commerce Clause challenges. Critics also assert that the law worsens the quality of online search results by restricting the search results that users can view. Supporters respond that trademark law has always considered trademark infringement to be a form of theft that is not protected speech, that search engines have demonstrated that they can pinpoint Internet users’ locations, and that paid advertisements are not a core component of an Internet user's experience. [ Glen Warchol . cite web| url= http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_5684545
title= “Internet freedom group wants delay in Utah law”| work=Salt Lake Tribune, 17 April 2007| accessdate=2007-04-19
]

References

ee also


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Electronic voting — Election technology Certification of voting machines Independent Testing Authority (ITA) NVLAP VVSG End to end auditable voting systems Help America Vote Act Independent verific …   Wikipedia

  • Mark 84 bomb — Mark 84 General Purpose (GP) Bomb A Mk 84 GP bomb Type Low drag general purpose bomb Place of origin United States …   Wikipedia

  • Mark 83 bomb — Mark 83 General Purpose (GP) Bomb Mark 83 1,000 pound general purpose bombs Type Low Drag General Purpose (LDGP) bomb Place of origin …   Wikipedia

  • Mark 82 bomb — Mark 82 General Purpose (GP) Bomb Mk 82 bomb as displayed on USAF website. Type Low drag general purpose bomb Place of origin Un …   Wikipedia

  • Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals — European Union regulation: Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 Regulation concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), establishing a European Chemicals Agency Made by European Parliament …   Wikipedia

  • Vehicle registration plate — A vehicle registration plate is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies the vehicle within the… …   Wikipedia

  • Optical mark recognition — (also called Optical Mark Reading and OMR) is the process of capturing human marked data from document forms such as surveys and tests. Contents 1 OMR background 2 OMR software 2.1 Open Source …   Wikipedia

  • Late Registration — Studio album by Kanye West Released August 30, 2005 …   Wikipedia

  • National Database and Registration Authority — NADRA Type Government of Pakistan Headquarters , Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan Area served Pakistan (Now going global through its sister concern i.e. NADRA Technology Ltd. (NTL) …   Wikipedia

  • On Mark Marksman — Marksman Role Executive Transport Manufacturer On Mark Engineering First flight January 1961[1] Introduction 1961 Produced 1961 1964 Number built …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”