Domain Names

Domain names litigation

The domain name is a distinctive sign for a company that has significant asset value, especially since today the Internet is the most widely used means by consumers to obtain information about a company.

It is therefore necessary for companies, in the same way as trademark law, to take numerous precautions with regard to this new asset, both in terms of the choice of domain name, the registration of the domain name and the life of the domain name by protecting it from all forms of attack by competitors to which it could be subjected, such as cybersquatting or typosquatting.

How to register your domain name?

Choosing a domain name

Before registering its domain name, the company must first choose the domain name it wishes to operate. The domain name regime is similar to that of trademarks in that a domain name is a distinctive sign that allows services, products or a company to be individualized.

As in trademark law, a domain name is therefore likely to infringe prior rights held by third parties, in particular trademarks, company names, trade names but also domain names that third parties could have registered or used in advance.

When a domain name infringes a trademark, the trademark owner can take action against this domain name, in particular through infringement proceedings but also through UDRP extrajudicial proceedings.

The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) procedure allows the owner of the earlier trademark to obtain the transfer of a domain name that would infringe a trademark on the condition that:

• • The domain name is identical or likely to be confused with a trademark;

  • The defendant has no right or legitimate interest in the registration of this domain name;

  • The registration and use of the domain name by the defendant were made in bad faith.

The choice of a domain name is therefore very important and must be considered. JUSLAWS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, composed of lawyers specialized in computer law, assists you in the choice of your domain name and helps you to ensure the availability of the chosen name by conducting prior art searches on the name.

It is strongly recommended that companies carry out such availability searches in order to be able to develop an activity under the said sign and subsequently enhance the distinctive sign that is the domain name.

Domain name registration

Once the domain name has been chosen and is available, it is necessary to quickly register the domain name because a domain name is unique in a namespace (such as “.co.th”) and is assigned to the first person who requests it.

To reserve a domain name, it is therefore necessary to use a "register" which will act as an intermediary with the Registrar Offices and in particular the Thai Network Information Center Foundation (THNIC), namely the Registrar appointed by Thailand for the management of domain names under the extension “.co.th”.

The domain name will then, subject to acceptance by the Office, be registered for a limited period of time, which should be renewed before the specified term in order not to lose its rights to this distinctive sign.

JUSLAWS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY and its lawyers, competent in IT law, will assist you in all procedures for registering a trademark for your domain name and inform you of the deadlines for renewing your domain name and its trademark.

How to protect your domain name?

A domain name is a distinctive sign for a company, which is protected as a trademark as soon as it is registered, but only if it is exploited.

It is therefore necessary for the holder of a domain name to monitor his domain name and set up monthly monitoring in order to be informed of the registrations of approaching domain names, trademarks, company names or other subsequent rights.

JUSLAWS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY assists you in the monitoring of your domain names and assists you in the protection of your domain names.

Domain name and other distinctive signs

Unlike trademark law, which is protected by infringement proceedings, the domain name is protected by the civil liability proceedings under provisions of the Thai Commercial and Civil Code (CCC).

Also, the holder of an exploited domain name may prevent a third party from exploiting an identical or similar subsequent domain name for similar products and services.

The domain name holder may also prevent a third party from using a company name, a trade name or other distinctive sign similar to the same as the registered and operated domain name, provided that there is a risk of confusion between the signs.

JUSLAWS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY accompanies and advises you in order to give you the means to act against third parties who would try to imitate or reproduce your domain name and also accompanies you in the enhancement of your domain name.

Advice and assistance on:

• • The validation of specific projects, websites and applications,

  • The choice of domain names,

  • The implementation of online advertising campaigns,

  • Compliance with the regulations relating to the protection and processing of personal data with the Data Protection Commission,

  • Domain name protection strategies and domain name reservation procedures,

  • The processing of complaints related to domain names,

  • The implementation of monitoring on your domain name,

  • The management of your domain name portfolio,

  • The processing of complaints related to content distributed online (denigration, etc.),

  • The implementation of infringement monitoring on the Internet.

Negotiation and drafting of:

• • Contracts for the transfer of domain names,

  • Contracts for the transfer of rights on the website,

  • IT contracts,

  • Database contracts,

  • General terms and conditions of sale on the Internet,

  • General conditions of use of websites, blogs.

Representation in disputes relating to domain names, in particular:

• • Unfair competition following the reproduction or imitation of a domain name,

  • UDRP procedure following the bad faith reservation of a domain name similar to your distinctive signs,

  • Liability of Internet service providers (content publishers, access providers, hosts, blog editors, etc.),

  • Implementation of legal procedures to stop all types of Internet infringements (e.g. phishing, typosquatting, etc.) and to identify the perpetrators,

  • Responsibility related to the referencing on the internet and automatic suggestions from search engines.