.:Interletssa:.

Though the United States media have published a number of stories deriding China’s intellectual property protection, those articles nearly always neglect to mention that in most instances involving trademarks, the fault lies with the foreign company, not with Chinese enforcement. The reality is that many foreign companies fail to register their trademarks in China and thus have no real right to complain about any “infringement” there. To expect protection, foreign companies must register their trademarks in China and the prudent company does this before going in.

There are actually a number of people in China who make a living by usurping foreign trademarks and then selling a license to that trademark to the original license holder. Once one comes to grip with the fact that China, like most of the rest of the world is a “first to file” country, one can understand how easy this usurpation is, and also, how easy it is to prevent it.

The fact that you are manufacturing your product in China just for export does not in any way minimize the need for you to protect your trademark. Once someone registers “your” trademark in China, they have the power to stop your goods at the border and prevent them from leaving China.

The key to protecting a trademark in China is actually very simple: register it in China.

China’s trademark requirements are actually quite similar to those in most other countries. The trademark must not conflict with an existing Chinese trademark and it must be distinctive. China allows for registration of all marks for goods, services, collective marks and certification marks.

China’s Trademark Office maintains a centralized database of all registered and applied-for trademarks. Trademark applications that pass a preliminary screening are published by the Trademark Office and subject to a three month period for objection. If there are no objections within this three month period, or if the Chinese Trademark Office rejects the objections as frivolous, the trademark is registered. If the Chinese Trademark Office supports an objection, it will deny the application. Denied applications may be appealed to the State Administration of Industry and Commerce Trademark Review & Approval Board and then to the People’s Court. Based on our experience, objections to trademarks are rare.A Chinese trademark gives foreign companies a surprising amount of protection in China. If a foreign company learns that its trademark is being infringed in China, it has a number of actions available to it.

We usually advise our clients to pursue a multi-pronged approach to protect an infringed upon trademark and to pursue the infringer. The foreign trademark owner should usually file a lawsuit against the infringer, seeking damages and an injunction stopping the infringer from continuing to sell the infringing goods. The Chinese courts in the more commercialized regions are actually quite willing to enforce China’s trademark laws, even for foreign companies. Trademark infringement is a crime in China. For serious cases of infringement, a complaint to the office of the public prosecutor can often result in a criminal prosecution against the infringer. The Chinese police will close the offending operation and seize the counterfeit goods. The courts are authorized to impose both fines and imprisonment. Finally, if the counterfeit goods are destined for export, a notice to the Chinese customs authorities will prevent export of the counterfeit goods.

Tags : China Law, China Legal, China Trademarks, Trademarks

Adding on to the number of lawsuits involving search ads, 1-800-Contacts has recently filed a lawsuit in federal court against LensWorld for purchasing search links triggered by the term “1-800-contacts.” The company which has since brought up several other similar cases, says it’s trying to guard against confusion which might lead consumers into thinking there is an affiliation between 1-800-Contacts and these other companies.

1-800-Contacts, whose headquarters are resided in Draper, Utah, is among several other Utah lawsuits filed lately involving the use of trademarked terms in online advertising such as search ads. Last year, Utah passed a legislation that makes it illegal to use other companies’ trademarked terms to trigger ads, but this law has yet to take effect.

1-800-Contacts has lost a related case in 2005, when a federal appellate court ruled that the retailer’s competitors could legally serve pop-up ads to consumers who had typed “1800contacts” into their internet browsers.

In 2004, Google prevailed over insurance Giant Gecico after trial when a federal district court judge ruled that Geico hadn’t prove that consumers were confused when they were shown links to Geico’s competitors after typing “Gecio” into the search box.

Google also won a major case brought up by computer repair company, Rescuecom in 2006 when a federal district court dismissed the case before trial, ruling that competitors who triggered keyword ads with the term “Rescuecom” does not violate the trademark law. Currently a appeal has been made and this case is still pending.

Stakes are high as a final ruling against the defense in any keyword bidding lawsuit could potentially cause an impact on the entire search marketing field. Trademark infringement on search ads will not only affect the purchaser, but also those companies selling the ads such as Google and Yahoo!. “That would have a noticeable effect on the online advertising industry.” says Eric Goldman, director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University School of Law.

Tags : Search Engine Marketing, SEO, Trademark, Trademarks

You’ve surely heard about why you need identity theft protection. A carelessly tossed receipt or lost credit card that falls into the wrong hands can ruin your financial life. Fraudulent emails asking for personal information like Social Security numbers or bank account numbers are obvious tip-offs that an identity thief is lurking and trying to make you a victim.

The question becomes, “What can the average person do to ensure that personal information is kept personal, and to guard against possible identity theft?” Here is a list of suggestions that will help you get the best possible identity theft protection.

Look at your credit reports. These reports contain the kind of information an identity thief is interested in, and the statistics that you should have a good understanding of, in terms of identity theft protection. The report shows what accounts you have and how you pay your bills. The law allows you to obtain a free version of this report at least once a year. If an identity thief is operating with your information, this report will show it in some way.

Review the credit reports. Look for any benchmarks that would tell you of possible identity theft, like inquiries from companies you haven’t contacted, accounts you didn’t open, and debits on accounts that can’t be explained. Check to see that all personal information is correct and that an Identity Thief hasn’t tampered with it.

Review your financial statements. Look at your accounts and billing statements on a regular basis. Watch for any changes that seem odd, like debits that you can’t account for and other things that could be the sign of possible identity theft.

It’s sad, but many people never find out that their personal information has been stolen until after an identity thief has done damage. You may only find out after bills or debts that you’ve never incurred go to a collection agency and then it’s too late for identity theft protection. You might only learn of a bad credit history when you are refused a car loan or mortgage, or when you open your mail to find a letter about a house you never owned, an apartment you never rented, or a job you never held. All these cases demand you investigate possible identity theft immediately.

You need identity theft protection in this online world. This means understanding your own vulnerabilities for fraud with personal information, and taking the steps to mend these potential problems. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself to ensure that your financial situation remains protected at all times.

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Cyber world today is facing the most complicated problem of fighting a crime which is hard to detect and curb in the borderless world. Cyber crime though has its origin in the conventional crime, it is hard to detect because of the highly technical mode of committing it. It is ironical that the advancement in the computer network worldwide, which has brought all the nations together on a global stage, has given rise to such an alarming situation. The law enforcement agencies, unaware of the technological know-how find it hard to nab the criminals involved in the offences related to cyber space. The main categories of cyber crime include hacking, theft of information, data diddling, virus attacks, web jacking, Trojan attacks etc.

Cyber terrorism is another dimension of the cyber crime which has raised serious security concerns world over. It could be understood as planned and intentional hacking of computer programs, data and information. The US economy is extremely vulnerable to cyber crimes as all the functions being performed by the government and financial institutions in the US are highly dependant upon the world of computers.

Cyber terrorists are capable of causing devastation to an unimaginable extent. In the year 1988, a computer virus was created that infected more than six thousand internet servers. In some other part of the world, a group of cyber criminals, posing as phone technicians, rerouted calls by tapping the phone lines. In yet another incident, the services provided by an airport were greatly affected when a hacker halted the airports’ computer system in 1997. These incidents indicate that cyber terrorists have the potential of inflicting damage to the whole community.

There are many criminal groups within the territorial boundaries of United States, which are capable of carrying out destruction through cyber technologies within the country. They have sophisticated websites that provide links to other criminal groups.

Among the various terrorist organizations, Al Qaeda has notoriously held the top most position in the list of U.S. government since many years. Its network has penetrated its roots deep within the humanity across the world. Planned attacks by Al Qaeda prove the use of advanced and sophisticated technology by the organization. Hizbullah is another terrorist organization which functions in the U.S. They are determined to establish Islamic power in the Middle East countries and propagate beliefs and ideas through their website.

The mode of operation of cyber crimes is different from the conventional crimes. Just with a single cyber attack the professional cyber criminals can affect a huge number of network servers and computer systems and can conduct his activities by remaining far away from the place of incident.

Tracking cyber terrorists and prosecuting them is not an effortless procedure. The government of U.S.A has framed the National Strategy for the security of cyber world which includes clauses for the expansion of national cyberspace security response system and procedures for development of training programs.

Co-operation and collaboration from all segments of society – right from home level computer users to extremely crucial government bureaus, is required to combat cyber terrorism. At worldwide level, Interpol, which works as mediator between law agencies of different countries, has served a great role in publicizing the names of cyber terrorists and in tracking of criminals on international scale. Apart from providing intelligence services to the countries associated with it, Interpol is attempting to facilitate data sharing between member nations, conducting operational information analysis, sponsoring training in cyber terrorism.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has set up the National Infrastructure Protection Center which is trying hard to enhance communication levels between different government agencies for curbing cyber terrorism. The principle behind the U.S.A Patriot Act is to detect and scrutinize cyber crimes. This act has given the authority to probe the activities regarding cyber terrorism to Secret Service.

Computer Forensics is the function of utilising scientifically proven methods to assemble together and process data found on a digital device, (computer, hard disk drive, mobile phone, memory card etc), and interpret that data for possible use in a court of law or other theatre of investigation. The evidence may assist in the prosecution or a criminal, help in the defence of an accused person, or be of intelligence to an individual who is seeking knowledge for either personal or professional reasons.

The main users of Computer Forensics are law enforcement officers, as a large percentage of crimes in some way utilise digitally stored data. This data could be a phone call made on a mobile phone, (or cell phone), which could place an individual at the scene of a crime, (or of course away from it), accounts for illegal activities such as drug sales, images of paedophilia, human resource issues, hacking, email abuse, unauthorised data duplication, IP theft etc. Corporate organisations are utilising computer forensics more and more now as they often have to investigate incidents such as inappropriate computer use, inappropriate email use, unauthorised data duplication and disloyal employees. Human Resource departments and Internal Security are the biggest users of these specialist corporate services. Private individuals may also use these services. It may be the lover cheating on their partner, or inappropriate internet use by a family member.

Computer Forensics or Cyber Forensics as it is also known, is now taught at many colleges and universities around the world, and is available to both the law enforcement community and private individuals.

What to do if you suspect illegal or inappropriate activity on a computer or digital device:

1. Turn the power off – Pull the plug out if necessary
2. Secure the ‘exhibit’. Don’t allow anyone access to it, security seal it if possible
3. Contact a Computer Forensics Expert

What NOT to do if you suspect illegal or inappropriate activity on a computer or digital device:

1. Call your IT manager, or one of your technical staff
2. Get them to ‘see’ if the user has been looking at ‘dodgy’ websites or if any important files are missing
3. Sack the member of staff

The analogy of the above:

Imaging a body lying in a muddy field. There is a blanket over the body and something petruding from it. By not following procedures, what you will have done is the same as follows:

1. See the body
2. Walk up to the body in the field
3. Take the blanket off the body
4. Move the body to ‘have a look’
5. Put the blanket back over the body – ‘like it was before’
6. Leave the field

What you have just done:

Entered the scene of a crime, left YOUR footprints all over the muddy field, left YOUR fingerprints on the body and blanket, left YOUR DNA all over the place.

You then expect to call the relevant organisation/authority and have them try and find evidence, which has just been tainted by YOU or YOUR STAFF. This is not a good start, and could make the case in question inadmissible.

Remember that this is a very specialised service provided by experts. Use experts to do the job correctly in the first place, then there shouldn’t be a problem.