NEWS UK to find out if copyright exchange is feasible


Te UK government has announced that Richard Hooper, former deputy chairman of the UK regulator for the communications industries, Ofcom, will lead a feasibility study on developing a Digital Copyright Exchange.


Te study will look into recommendations made by Professor Ian Hargreaves that found that the creation of a copyright exchange could significantly boost the UK economy.


Te Hargreaves Review found that a copyright exchange would lower the costs of licensing and give businesses and consumers easier access to copyrighted material.


Announcing the launch of the feasibility study, UK business secretary Vince Cable said: “A Digital Copyright Exchange would be a global first and could unlock significant growth potential in the creative sector, benefiting consumers and businesses alike.”


“Tis is an exciting project which could really open up the UK’s intellectual property systems.


US court gives go-ahead to grab domain names


Te US District Court for the District of Nevada has issued temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions to prevent approximately 600 websites dealing in counterfeit goods.


Te orders were made between September and November 2011 aſter luxury brand Chanel conducted an investigation into websites that it believed sold counterfeit versions of its own trademarked goods.


Chanel’s team of investigators identified websites that advertise, promote, offer for sale or sell Chanel products, which include handbags, wallets and shoes.


Te investigators then ordered goods from the websites. Once the goods arrived, they identified them as counterfeit if they bore Chanel trademarks but were not genuine Chanel products.


Chanel filed a complaint for injunctive relief based on this evidence in September 2011. It filed the complaint against the unidentified owners of domain names such as handbags4sell.com and luxurychanelgiſts.com.


Chanel argued that the unidentified owners could sidestep traditional enforcement efforts by transferring domain registrations and redirecting traffic, leaving it with no adequate legal remedy.


In separate September, October and November 14


orders, the Nevada district court issued two temporary restraining orders and two preliminary injunctions.


It prohibited the unidentified domain name owners from using any Chanel trademarks or selling any Chanel goods.


Te court also ordered the top-level domain name registry to transfer ownership of the domain names to US-based domain name manager GoDaddy so that it could redirect the


Trademarks Brands and the Internet Volume 1, Issue 1


domain names to a website that hosts the case’s documents.


It also ordered search engines Google, Bing and Yahoo!, as well as social networks Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, to de-index or remove domain names from any search results pages.


Chanel had to post a $20,000 bond for damages in case the domain name owners prove that the injunctions were wrongfully issued. n


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But the solutions are not straightforward and there are a number of issues that need to be worked through to establish its feasibility, so I am delighted to have someone of Richard Hooper’s stature to lead this important work.”


Hooper said that his job will be to create a universal system that benefits everyone.


He explained: “I want to talk to people across


and outside the sector to find out how they see the licensing challenges facing them. As part of that process, I’ll be looking to meet the key players and to provide opportunities for all those interested to air their views. We will then be able to forge some common understanding so that I can look to produce appropriate industry- led solutions which respond to the spirit of Hargreaves’s vision.” n


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