Digital Trademarks and Brands: Towards an Improved UDRP and Platform Policies

Trademark disputes are a consistent feature of the digital legal landscape, appearing in connection with a range of successive technologies and platforms. This book presents a new adapted model for digital trademarks and trade practices, providing recommendations for the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) and extending a like process to platform trademark policies and complaint procedures, including e-commerce marketplace, search advertising, social media, mobile applications, and Metaverse platforms.

The proposed model addresses and greatly reduces legal uncertainties and the harm caused by problems for digital trademarks in such key areas as the following:

• use and place of use of marks;

• bad faith and abuse;

• confusion;

• unfair acts, trade practices, or competition;

• terms, policies, and disclaimers;

• jurisdiction/territory; and

• justification.

The adapted model is informed by pertinent theories and concepts, select aspects of EU and U.S. and other legal frameworks, and existing policies. Ultimately, a uniform policy is recommended for each of the five platform types in line with an adapted version of the UDRP based on recommendations through the model. It is applied in a way that provides a comprehensive workable solution, fostering legal certainty. Actual text for the proposed adapted UDRP, as well as the uniform policies recommended for each type of platform, is provided, with guidance for implementation.

The book provides recommendations that can greatly enhance the resolution of trademark disputes of various kinds and on various platforms in a more certain, cost-effective and timely manner. Given that the complex global environment of digital trademarks raises new issues not adequately addressed by legal frameworks, this book will be of inestimable value to digital platforms (e-commerce, search advertising, social media, mobile app, Metaverse, etc.), website operators, platform and website lawyers, various stakeholders in the UDRP, arbitrators, panellists, online dispute resolution providers, libraries, academics and researchers. It will also be useful to digital businesses, domain name holders, sellers, listers, advertisers, content providers, digital consumers, trademark holders, digital trademark users, and others.