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Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain technology has revolutionized numerous industries, including finance, supply chain management and digital identity verification. One of its latest frontiers relates to the domain name system (DNS). Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces. This article explores the issues associated with trademark protection in blockchain domain names and examines new steps and policies that blockchain domain registrars should implement to safeguard brand owners.
|Traditional Domain Name Registration and Protections
Traditional DNS operates under a hierarchical structure managed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This centralized authority oversees domain name registrations and resolves disputes through established policies such as the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP). Developed more than 20 years ago, the UDRP was ICANN's first consensus policy and was intended to address cybersquatting in the DNS. Cybersquatting involves the registration of domain names that are identical or confusingly similar to trademarks with the intent of registering and using those names in bad faith.
The Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) was another ICANN policy development that provided crucial rights protection for the new generic top-level domain (new gTLD) program. The TMCH serves as a centralized database of verified trademarks connected to every new gTLD that launches. The TMCH authenticates rights information and supports both Sunrise registration — priority access for rights holders to request domain names associated with their trademarks — and the Trademark Claims service, which notifies rights holders after registration, allowing immediate action if an infringing domain is registered.
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AI Poisoning: A Self Help Cybersecurity Option
A novel legal self-help technique to secure artificial intelligence data and programs is known as Poisoning AI. This technique involves modifying the AI algorithm to intentionally produce specific erroneous results.
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Customers: Developments on ‘Conquesting’ from the Ninth Circuit
In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed the issue of whether purchasing market competitors’ search engine keyword terms, known as “conquesting,” constitutes trademark infringement.
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Second Circuit Clarifies Video Privacy Protection Act
The Second Circuit’s decision is notable in that it signals a reversal of the recent trend of dismissals of VPPA claims in courts across the country and could trigger a significant increase in VPPA lawsuits. Although organizations have grappled with VPPA claims for several years, this decision is another red flag to organizations to take immediate steps and ensure compliance with privacy laws to mitigate the risks of VPPA claims.