On 10 July 2019, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) initiated an investigation pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 into France’s Digital Services Tax (DST) to determine whether the tax is discriminatory or unreasonable and burdens or restricts United States commerce.
Following an affirmative finding by USTR, the U.S. may take unilateral actions against … Continue Reading
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Russia is facing potential restrictions of foreign ownership in digital companies. This follows on similar restrictions over Russian mass media companies and online cinemas which took effect in 2016 and 2017, respectively. These proposed amendments coincide with the announcement of major e-commerce and foodtech JV deals in Russia with participation … Continue Reading
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), an organisation of the UK Government that provides cybersecurity advice and support for the public and private sector, published an article earlier this year relating to a recent large-scale global DNS hijacking campaign. The article discusses the risks and solutions for protecting organisations against such attacks, whereby the Domain Name System (DNS) records of … Continue Reading
The Registry Minds + Machines Group Limited (MMX), which owns 32 new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) such as .VIP, .WORK or .LUXE, has recently launched a blocking service that enables trade mark holders to protect their rights across the adult namespace.
This new service enables trade mark holders to block domain name registrations under the four adult oriented gTLDs … Continue Reading
On July 16, 2019, Nathan Salminen, Allison Holt, and Paul Otto from the Hogan Lovells Privacy and Cybersecurity and Litigation teams presented a webinar, “Cyberthreats in the Internet of Things” where they explored some techniques that can be used to exploit potential vulnerabilities in connected devices and how those types of events impact organizations from a regulatory and litigation perspective.… Continue Reading
Previously, under the CNNIC ccTLD Dispute Resolution Policy (CNDRP) which governs the .CN (and .中国) domain in China, no complaints under CNDRP could be filed against a .CN domain which had been registered for more than 2 years.
This time bar led to debates as to whether it imposes an unreasonable time limit on the fair and equitable enforcement of … Continue Reading
NASK, the organisation responsible for the Top Level Domain .PL (Poland), recently announced the introduction of a Registry Lock service for .PL domain names.
Locking a domain name at the Registry level provides an added layer of security against domain name hijacking. Domain name hijacking occurs when an attacker gains unauthorised access to registration data for a domain name, thereby … Continue Reading
On Monday, April 29th 2019, policy makers and industry representatives from different IoT ‘verticals’ (agriculture, automotive, health, energy, aerospace) gathered in Brussels at the initiative of Vodafone to launch a conversation about the future policies applicable to the Internet of Things (IoT) in Europe.
Global Players Require Global Regulation
The debate emphasized how global any approach to IoT regulation should … Continue Reading
London, Paris, 4 June 2019 – Hogan Lovells recently represented Twitter in the first case brought under the new French ‘fake news’ law.
On 17 May a claim brought by Ms. Marie-Pierre Vieu (a European Deputy running for reelection) and Mr. Pierre Ouzoulias (a French Senator), against Hogan Lovells client Twitter France SAS, was dismissed by the Paris Civil Court.… Continue Reading
.CLUB Domains, the Registry operating the .CLUB new generic Top Level Domain (gTLD), has recently launched a new service that enables qualified trade mark holders to block .CLUB domain name registrations containing their trade marks.
According to the .CLUB Domains’ press release, the Trademark Sentry Unlimited Name Blocking Service (UNBS) “protects a trademark from appearing in any portion of … Continue Reading
During the Annual INTA 2019 Meeting, a panel was held on the EU General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) and the temporary removal of data for the WHOIS directory. IPMT Partner David Taylor spoke on the following GDPR issues and their impact on global brand protection.
When the GDPR came into force back in 2018, the Internet Corporation for Assigned … Continue Reading
Please join us for our June events.
June 4
Privacy Breakfast
Paul Otto and Tim Tobin are presenting at the Hogan Lovells Munich office’s privacy breakfast, “EU General Data Protection Regulation,” on privacy topics such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), cybersecurity and data breaches, and sector-specific issues found in the life sciences and health care, automotive, and financial … Continue Reading
In a recent decision under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a Panel refused to order the transfer of a Domain Name because the Complainant failed to demonstrate that the Respondent registered the domain name in bad faith.
This decision serves as a reminder that having a trade mark does not … Continue Reading
On 19 March 2019, the European Union adopted Regulation (eu) 2019/517 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 on the implementation and functioning of the .eu top-level domain name and amending and repealing Regulation (EC) No 733/2002 and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 874/2004, otherwise known as the .eu Regulation.
Background
As its name indicates, … Continue Reading
The Northern District of California recently released an order that sheds new light on how courts grapple with the constantly-increasing use of trademarks as hashtags.
Align Technology, Inc., provider of the Invisalign teeth-straightening-system, also produces the iTero Element intraoral scanner that allows dentists to obtain three-dimensional scans of a patient’s mouth, teeth, and gums. To complement this product, Align sells … Continue Reading
On 11 April 2019 our Düsseldorf office hosted its third IP Lounge. The IP Lounge is an event planned and hosted by our younger associates and particularly addresses “Young Professionals” to provide a time and place to get to know each other and exchange ideas.
This time, the hot-topic “Influencer-Marketing” was discussed. Dr. Ricarda Braun, Kerstin Jonen and Dr. … Continue Reading
Nominet, the Registry responsible for operating the .UK country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) for the United Kingdom, launched the registration of domain names directly under the .UK top level domain name extension back in June 2014. Eligible registrants were given five years to secure their .UK domain names. They only have a couple of months left as the reservation … Continue Reading
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) recently published a Comparative Case Study on Alternative Resolution Systems for Domain Name Disputes which highlights the main similarities and differences between various Dispute Resolution Procedures (DRPs), analysing in particular the different procedures, fees, timelines and case statistics. The study also compared the likely outcomes of a few selected DRPs in relation … Continue Reading
It’s no secret that a hot topic, perhaps the hot topic, in the European data protection world at present is the interplay between the GDPR and the e-Privacy Directive, in particular how it affects online advertising involving cookies. The European Data Protection Board recently released an opinion on this topic (as we discuss here), and on 21 March the … Continue Reading
On 9 March 2019, the House of Lords Select Committee on Communications published its report on “Regulating in a digital World”. It included a number of recommendations to the government, including 10 guiding principles for the development of regulation online, a new public interest test for data driven mergers and a new Digital Authority, to oversee regulation of the digital … Continue Reading
On 27 and 28 March, our global IP team will take a look at some of the emerging opportunities and risks for brand owners exploring opportunities in the esports market: from innovative advertising and marketing activities during tournaments and within games, sponsorship of tournaments or teams, to merchandise and fan items (see earlier post here). Esports refers … Continue Reading
A Hogan Lovells study comparing of regulatory requirements in the European Union, United States, and China shows the complexity and uncertainty of the regulatory framework relevant to Internet of Things (IoT) in Europe. The number of telecoms regulatory constraints affecting IoT in the EU is almost twice as high as in the United States and China. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) … Continue Reading
Hogan Lovells partner Winston Maxwell spoke at the executive roundtable on artificial intelligence and online hate speech, organised on January 31, 2019 by CERRE, the Centre on Regulation in Europe. The goal of the roundtable was to discuss what measures should be adopted to fight hate speech online and to look at the pros and cons of using machine-learning in … Continue Reading
Increasing numbers of initiatives, devices, and solutions related to the Internet of Things (IoT) are substantially impacting the development of cybersecurity and data privacy regulations throughout Asia. After the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, for example, Asian lawmakers are considering strengthening their own data protection laws. The region is also characterized by a push in … Continue Reading
