Despite the apparent advantages of the internet, there is little debate that it facilitates intellectual property infringements, including infringements of trade mark rights. Infringers not only remain hidden by the anonymity the internet provides but also take advantage of its increasing reach and the associated challenges with regard to cross-border enforcement of rights. These factors, among others, have rendered the internet a growing source of counterfeit and other infringing products. It has, therefore, become necessary for right holders to shift their focus from individual infringers to internet intermediaries, such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), hosts and navigation providers, which are responsible in numerous ways for making content promoting infringements available to internet users. In light of these developments, this book conducts a comprehensive analysis of the liability of such intermediaries for trade mark infringements and considers the associated issues and challenges in the diverging approaches under which liability may be imposed. At present, however, neither UK trade mark law nor English common-law principles relating to accessorial liability provide a basis to hold internet intermediaries liable for trade mark infringements. As such, this book considers approaches adopted in some of the Continental European countries and the US in order to propose reforms aimed at addressing gaps in the existing legal framework. This book also examines alternative remedies, such as notice and takedown and injunctions, and discusses the associated shortcomings of each of these remedies.

Legal conflicts between trademark holders, social media providers and internet users have become manifest in light of wide scale, unauthorised use of the trademark logo on social media in recent decades. Arguing for the protection of the trademark logo against unauthorised use in a commercial environment, this book explores why protection enforcement should be made automatic. A number of issues are discussed including the scalability of litigation on a case-by-case basis, and whether safe harbour provisions for online service providers should be substituted for strict liability.

The proposal for legal reforms identifies the class of intermediaries against whom, and the circumstances in which, such monetary relief should be made available. Consequential legal reforms are proposed in order to counter the potential abuse of notice-and-takedown procedures, which this thesis identifies as a direct consequence of the interplay between the proposed liability framework and the EU safe harbour that limits such liability. The last substantive part of the thesis considers injunctive relief as a means of holding internet intermediaries accountable for making infringing content available to internet users. This part sets out how injunctions have been utilised in the UK against ISPs, and identifies key challenges underpinning this remedy, while also considering its application to other types of intermediaries. Having considered comparable approaches in Chile, Singapore and Australia, recommendations are made for suitable legal reforms to the EU legal framework, which has hitherto shaped the development of UK law in this regard. These suggested reforms are aimed at overcoming the challenges associated with the injunctive remedy, while promoting it as an effective way of holding internet intermediaries accountable for making content that infringes trademark rights available to internet users.

This book critically evaluates the EU regulatory framework for the liability of host Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for copyright and trade mark infringements and provides a cluster of novel recommendations for its improvement. The book recommends the imposition of a duty of care to host ISPs to curb the dissemination of unauthorised works and counterfeit goods, the ascription of a transparency obligation to host ISPs towards their users, and the establishment of a supervisory authority for host ISPs. Host ISPs have facilitated the dissemination of content amongst users and the purchase of goods online, enabling copyright holders and brand owners to attract a greater audience for their works and goods. However, their services have attracted a high number of copyright and trade mark violations, too. Neither Article 14 of the e-Commerce Directive nor Article 17 of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive provide a solid response to the issue of host ISPs' liability. This book is a valuable resource for researchers in IT and IP law and offers a new perspective for resolving online IP disputes.

There are a number of points throughout the trade mark system where multiple undertakings share the same name, either unwillingly, or by consent. In this timely book, expert contributors address this controversial issue and identify the various points at which names are shared. This unique book uses both historical and interdisciplinary perspectives, as well as more traditional legal methodology, to examine the practical and theoretical implications of such name sharing for the parties involved. It analyses what can be learned from the sharing process about the nature of the trade mark system and the interests which it protects. General themes relating to the nature and purpose of trade mark law are also discussed. The contributors focus on UK and European law and their detailed treatment of specific trade mark topics will prove invaluable to postgraduate law students and academics specialising in intellectual property. Legal practitioners will appreciate the up-to-date consideration of concepts important in both contentious and non-contentious trade mark practice and in-house counsel for brand owners will benefit from the expert guidance offered on issues relevant to protecting their trade marks.