Newsletter
REGISTERING ANOTHER COM-PANY NAME AS AN INTERNET DOMAIN NAME VIOLATES FAIR TRADE LAW
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) recently gave a decision in a case in which the name or other mark of a company, generally known to relevant enterprises or consumers, was registered as an Internet domain name by a person other than its owner. The FTC ruled that such registration violated Article 24 of the Fair Trade Law (FTL). Explaining its decision, the FTC noted that ir-respective of whether the domain name in ques-tion was actually used by the person who regis-tered it, such registration prevented the original holder of rights in the company name or other mark from using its own name or mark as an Internet domain name, thereby depriving it of the opportunity to enter network markets and seek to trade under the name by which it is known to consumers. Such unlawful use of another com-pany name or mark violated the principle of competitive efficacy, hindered competition, was detrimental to the orderly conduct of trade, and was a manifestly unfair act.