INTERNET & DOMAIN NAMES

• The most important man in IP

  

  This month, Francis Gurry takes over the role of WIPO director general, as the world's only international organisation dedicated to intellectual property begins its recovery from a period of criticism and stagnation. In an exclusive interview, he discusses the challenges WIPO faces, the changes he will make and why he is the right man for the most important job in IP

• IP Clinic: How can we protect our rights in Second Life?

  I work for a business with consumer-facing brands. A lot of our customers seem to have avatars in Second Life. How can we ensure our IP rights are not abused in such virtual worlds?

• Five steps towards effective digital IP management

  Mark Harding explains the issues that await all IP owners as they look to join the digital revolution, and offers five lessons from the music industry's experience

• Web seminars: report

  Tips on tackling trans-shipment; Prepare for the new gTLDs

• Should we apply to obtain a new gTLD?

  I'm an in-house trade mark counsel for a famous brand and we are thinking about applying for a new gTLD. What issues do we need to consider and should we make an application?

• eBay under fire from brand owners

  Trade mark enforcement on the internet remains a muddy issue, as demonstrated by four cases involving the online auction site eBay in three different jurisdictions

• eBay suffers double defeat in France

  Brand owners have scored two victories over eBay in France

• Prepare for the domain name explosion

  

  Are you ready for a world with 500 top-level domains? You should be. James Nurton reports from the ICANN meeting in Paris

• A domain name policy in 10 easy steps

  Gretchen Olive provides a list of stages that every brand owner should consider when drawing up a corporate domain name policy

• ICANN to discuss gTLD expansion

  Any business would be able to register gTLDs under proposals likely to be approved later this month

• A guide to internationalized top level domains

  

  ICANN is planning to introduce new domains containing only non-English characters. This is what it means for IP owners and their domain name portfolios

• Finding the limits to fair use on the internet

  

  The internet has issued many challenges to traditional copyright law - not least in the area of fair use. Stephen Meyers reviews the leading US cases to explain where the courts have set the limits

• Yahoo bid highlights IP issues

• Slam dunk the domain name slammers

  

  Domain name slamming is one of the latest internet scams. Nick Wood explains how IP owners can protect themselves from it

• UK prepares to liberalize format-shifting

  Consumers in the UK could get the right to transfer music or films between CDs and MP3 players without fear of breaking the law

• The brand reality of the virtual world

  IP owners risk jeopardizing their rights if they fail to protect their copyright and trade mark rights in online worlds such as Second Life

• The terrifying prospect of new gTLDs

  The head of ICANN said that plans for new generic top-level domain names "terrified" him

• Russia's Part IV problems

  

  Last year Russia overhauled its IP legislation. Managing IP hosted a roundtable in Moscow to discuss the changes

• Good morning .asia

  The sunrise period for the .asia domain begins this month. Emma Barraclough provides a guide to the latest top-level domain

• How to beat the cyberpirates

  Panellists in a web seminar organized by Managing IP and VeriSign discussed the latest online challenges to brands - and how to fight them

• Fears raised over Russia's Part IV reforms

• Record price for internet patent

  A patent for methods of internet shopping with a one-stop shopping cart was sold for £2.25 million ($4.45 million) at an auction in London last month

• Managing copyright in the digital era

  Technological advances are putting copyright law under pressure in India. Poorvi Chothani assesses where the courts are likely to draw the line

• Fight for your domain rights

  Navigating your way around the maze of national domain name dispute resolution procedures can be tricky. But it is essential if you want to take on the cybersquatters - and win. Emma Barraclough introduces a survey of eight Asian jurisdictions which considers what rights owners need to know to reclaim their rights

• Internet companies face keyword ad challenge

  Attorneys from Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo and Google tried to "diffuse some of the emotional issues" to do with internet advertising last month

• eBay woes

  Trade mark owners are increasingly frustrated at having to police online auction websites to prevent sales of fakes. In an open letter to eBay, one IP lawyer demands action. Ray Black

• France launches DRM watchdog

  A new watchdog is being set up in France to regulate digital rights management systems and ensure that copyright owners and users follow the rules on copyright exceptions

• New GPL draft attacks patent deals

  Deals between patent owners and open source distributors using the GNU General Public Licence version 3 would be blocked if the latest draft of the GPL is adopted

• How to protect software inventions

  The patentability of software and business method inventions continues to be debated in many jurisdictions. Sam Frost and Ebad Rahman explain that, in the past two years, Canada has implemented new guidelines that attempt to provide more uniform, consistent and predictable examination

• Protecting Playboy's bunny

  The Playboy bunny is one of the most widely recognized trade marks in the world. But that also makes it a target for counterfeiters. Ana Cashman, Playboy's assistant counsel, tells Shahnaz Mahmud how the company tackles the problem

• The obscure world of keyword ads

  

  The courts have yet to resolve when or if search terms used to drive traffic to ad-sponsored sites should be considered trade mark infringement. Jonathan Moskin examines this issue in the context of recent cases

• IP practitioners disappointed by EPO software decision

  Emma Barraclough, London

• IP owners face growing domain name danger

  Emma Barraclough, London

• Get ready for Dot-asia

  Peter Ollier, Hong Kong

• OECD reveals cost of fakes

  Emma Barraclough, Geneva