NOTICE AND TAKEDOWNS FOR TRADEMARKS

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This article outlines a proposal for a statutory notice and takedown procedure for online trademark infringements, analogous to the DMCA procedure. The article consists of a review of intermediary liability case-law from around the world, such as Tiffany v eBay in the US and Louis Vuitton v eBay in France; a survey of existing ‘eDRPs’ (expedited dispute resolution procedures) such as DCMA, the UDRP for domain names, and eBay’s VeRO program; and recommendations for a trademark notice and takedown procedure, learning from the weaknesses and strengths of prior eDRPs. The article concludes that for trademark notice and takedown to be truly effective, it should be implemented on a multi-lateral basis. The article, titled “Notice and Takedown for Trademarks” was published in the January-February 2011 edition of The Trademark Reporter, Vol. 101, No. 1.