Domain Names: Strategies and Legal Aspects, 2nd Edition

The internet has changed significantly in recent years. Being aware of the relation between domain names and trade marks, as well as the strategies to optimize opportunities online while navigating brand damaging pitfalls, is crucial to any modern business — domain names are no longer merely an address on the web. Domain names hold substantial financial value, closely interact with trade mark rights and affect branding and consumer/client trust.

This book will guide you through the essentials for developing a successful online strategy and managing the legal aspects of domain names. What is a domain name from a legal perspective and how does it differ from a trade mark or service mark? What domain names should I register, under which top-level domains and does it matter where I register them (with which registrar)? Do they affect search engine optimization (SEO)? How should a company manager, IT director or lawyer handle domain names within the company? How do we detect and deal with trade mark infringement online?

The second edition includes extensive coverage of both old and new top-level domains, both from a strategic and legal perspective. New additions include, but are not limited to, case updates, phishing and spoofing, current dispute statistics, IPv6, national dispute resolution systems, comparison between the two most frequently used dispute resolution regulations, relevant illustrative domain name dispute cases, expanded information regarding the requirements to successfully prove trade mark infringement in domain name disputes, new SEO guidelines and trade mark protection mechanisms in place since the launch of 1,200+ new top-level domains.