IP & WEBSITES

What elements of your website can be protected

E-commerce systems, search engines or other technical Internet tools

may be protected by patents or utility models;

Software
can be protected by copyright and/or patents, depending on the national law;

website design

is likely to be protected by copyright;

Creative website content

may be protected by copyright;

Databases
can be protected by copyright or by sui generis database laws;

Business names, logos, product names, domain names and other signs posted on your
website

may be protected as trademarks;

graphic symbols, screen displays, graphic user interfaces (GUIs) and even webpages
may be protected by industrial design law;

Hidden aspects of your website

can be protected by trade secret law

What is a Utility Model?

A utility model is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which allows the right
holder to prevent others from commercially using the protected invention, without his
authorization, for a limited period of time.
In its basic definition, which may vary from one country (where such protection is
available) to another, a utility model is similar to a patent. In fact, utility models are
sometimes referred to as "petty patents" or "innovation patents.

The main differences between utility models and patents are the following:
The requirements for acquiring a utility model are less stringent than for patents. While
the requirement of "novelty" is always to be met, that of "inventive step" or "nonobviousness" may be much lower or absent altogether. In practice, protection for utility
models is often sought for innovations of a rather incremental character which may not
meet the patentability criteria.
The term of protection for utility models is shorter than for patents and varies from
country to country (usually between 7 and 10 years without the possibility of extension
or renewal).
In most countries where utility model protection is available, patent offices do not
examine applications as to substance prior to registration. This means that the
registration process is often significantly simpler and faster, taking, on average, six
months.
Utility models are much cheaper to obtain and to maintain
In some countries, utility model protection can only be obtained for certain fields of
technology and only for products but not for processes.
Utility models are considered particularly suited for SMEs that make "minor"
improvements to , and adaptations of, existing products. Utility models are primarily
used for mechanical innovations.

How to protect your website

a) Protecting your IP rights
Register your trademarks;
Register a domain name that is user-friendly and reflects your trademark, business
name or character of your business;
Think about patenting online business methods, in countries where such
protection is available;
Register your website and copyright material in countries which provide this
option at the national copyright office;
Take precautions about disclosure of your trade secrets.
Consider to take an IP insurance policy that would cover your legal costs should
you need to take enforcement action against infringers.

How to protect your website

b) Letting people know that the content is protected
Mark your trademarks with the trademark symbol , TM, SM or equivalent symbols.
Equally, you can use a copyright notice
Another option is to use watermarks that embed copyright information into the digital
content itself.
You may also use a time stamp.

c) Letting people know what use they can make of the content
d) Controlling access and use of your website content

Online agreements
Access control or conditional access systems.
release only versions of insufficient quality
etc

Who owns the IP rights in your website?

Who owns the copyright?

Scenarios
Website has been developed by your employees who are employed for this
purpose
Outsourced the creation of their website design and/or content to an
outside contractor

TIP
It is highly advisable to enter into a clear, written agreement with the website
developer that spells out who owns IP rights in each element of the site.

Web development agreement

a) Scope of work to be performed
b) Ownership of material
a) Who owns IP rights in the different components of the website that are created
by the website developer

b) Who owns IP rights in material that you have provided to the website developer
for use on the website?
c) For any elements in which the website designer owns IP rights, what can you do
with it?

d) For any elements in which IP rights are owned by someone other than you or the
website developer who is responsible for getting permission to use such third
party material?
e) Who owns IP rights in the software that displays your website and runs the
components of your website?
f) Can the website developer use the design as a model for other websites?

Web development agreement

Warranties
Maintenance and update
Liability

Other

fees and payment

Indemnification
Disclaimers
limitation of liability
jurisdiction and applicable law, etc.

Material owned by others

a) Using technical tools owned by others

b) Using software owned by others

c) Using copyrighted works owned by others
d) Photographs
e) Content from public domain
f) Using trademarks owned by others
g) Metatagging, linking & framing, and using trademarks in domain names
h) Using others likenesses

Creating, launching, maintaining or developing a

website

Links that can create legal liability

Leading to illegal content

Links that comprise a companys logo
Deep links
Framing , inlining or mirroring

Watch out with metatagging

Choose carefully your domain name
Be sure not to disclose trade secrets
Be sure not to disclose patent related information
Respect other peoples personal data
Immediately remove infringing material
Be sure your online agreements are enforceable
Post notices and disclaimers

Creating, launching, maintaining or developing a website

Other legal issues

What is your liability, as the proprietor of a website, for the content of your
website?
If you allow people to post content or comments on your site, do you need a
policy for dealing with postings?
If you place advertising on your site, what issues should your online advertising
agreement cover? Are your marketing practices legal?

If you trade online, what

tax regulations

are applicable to e-commerce?

If you sell online to consumers, do you need to fulfill with any distance selling
regulations?
If your website contains statements about, or links to, other persons,
companies or organizations, are there potential liabilities for defamation?

If your website is directed toward children, are there any specific legal
requirements you must comply with?
If you are running an online education site, are there any specific issues
regarding rights, licensing and free use of copyright material?
How can you reduce the risk of being sued abroad?

Case Studies
YouTube vs. Super Cassette Industries (Copyright infringement)
Playboy Enterprises Inc vs. Calvin Designer Label (Meta tag case)
Ticket Master vs. Ticket.com (Deep links / Framing)

CONCLUSION
Websites are common targets for infringement lawsuits. If you are not
cautious, you can lose your IP rights or be liable for infringement of the IP
rights of others.
Before going online, businesses should consult with a specialized Internet
attorney on IP and other legal concerns involved with the creation and
management of a website.

Internet Domain Name

What is a domain name?

is the address of a web site that is intended to
be easily identifiable and easy to remember,
such as goolge.com, or nift.ac.in
domain names have become business
identifiers and, increasingly, even trademarks
themselves, such as amazon.com.
By using existing trademarks for domain
names - sony.com, for example - businesses
attract potential customers to their websites.

gTLD
A generic top-level domain (gTLD) is one of the categories
of top-level domains (TLDs) maintained by the Internet
Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) for use in the Domain
Name System of the Internet.
The core group of generic top-level domains consists of the
com, info, net, and org domains.
IANA currently distinguishes the following groups of toplevel domains:

infrastructure top-level domain (arpa)

country-code top-level domains (ccTLD)
internationalized top-level domains (IDNs)
internationalized country code top-level domains
testing top-level domains

What is the nature of the disputes?

Cybersquatting - pre-emptive registration of
trademarks by third parties as domain names.
Cybersquatting, is a crime against the laws and
regulations of cyber law.
It can be defined as registering, trafficking in, or using a
domain name with bad-faith i.e. mala fide intent to
make profit from the goodwill of a trademark
belonging to someone else.
The cybersquatter then offers to sell the domain to the
person or company who owns a trademark contained
within the name at an inflated price.

Why so many disputes?

No agreement within the Internet community
that would allow organizations that register
domain names to pre-screen the filing of
potentially problematic names.
The increasing business value of domain
names on the Internet has led to more
cybersquatting

How does the UDRP work?

UDRP (Uniform Domain Resolution Policy)
The UDRP permits complainants to file a case
with a resolution service provider, specifying:
the domain name in question,
the respondent or holder of the domain name,
the registrar with whom the domain name was
registered,
the grounds for the complaint.

What factors guide the panelists'

decisions?
Whether the domain name is identical or
confusingly similar to a trademark or service
mark in which the complainant has rights.
Whether the respondent has any rights or
legitimate interests in the domain name
Whether the domain name was registered and
is being used in bad faith

Case Studies from Indian domain

(.in dispute resolution policy (INDRP)

Rediff.in
Orkut.in
Internet.in
Computer.in

Thank you