On January 1, 1983, the Department of Defense introduced a new computer protocol called, the Transfer Control Protocol/Internetwork Protocol (TCP/IP). The protocol allowed computers on different networks to communicate with each other. This technology became known as the internet and changed how people lived their lives and the way companies do business. Internet technology is constantly changing and so are the laws that pertain to it. A business today needs to protect its online reputation and its domain name. It needs to comply with all laws pertaining to the internet.
Fortunately, there are law firms that can help you. Greenberg & Lieberman LLC understands the complex internet laws. They are experts in intellectual property law and work hard to protect the online interests of their clients.
What Does an Internet Lawyer Do?
An internet attorney deals with creating websites and protecting the domain names of those websites. They can help you create contracts, interpret other people’s contracts, and advise you on whether or not you should sign those contracts.
When you open a business, you will need a website. You will get a domain name for that website. An intellectual property law firm can help. A lawyer can help you secure the rights to a domain name. They can also help you with any online trademark issues you may have.
Business regulations may vary from state to state and from country to country. A lawyer can help make sure you are compliant with the law in each place that you do business if licensed in that location or can assist with bringing in another attorney with a license in that jurisdiction. An internet lawyer can help you whether you do business strictly online, work out of an office, or have your own brick-and-mortar facility.
Competition can be fierce among internet businesses and it is not at all unusual for one business to try to defame another online. An internet intellectual property lawyer can defend you if someone has tried to hurt your reputation.
Trademarks and the Internet
When you start a business, you need to come up with a memorable name for that business. You will want to make sure that no one else owns the rights to that name by doing a trademark search. You will also have to do a trademark search for any slogans that you want to use for your business. If you use a trademark that someone else owns, they can sue you.
We can assist you with a trademark search and with obtaining a trademark for your business on either a state or national level. We are staffed with trademark law pros.
Trademark laws can get more complex when it comes to the internet. Every business nowadays has a website. Most business owners will want the name of their website to be the same as the name of their business. In some cases, they may use a slogan associated with their business. You may think that if you trademark the name of the business, you automatically have the right to use that name for your website, but that is not necessarily the case. You may think that if you own a domain name, it trademarks your business, but that is not the case either.
Domain Name Registrars, Registries, and Registrants
When you want to set up a website, you will need to see if the name of the website is available. You will go to the website of a registrar such as GoDaddy or HostGator and see if the domain name and the domain extension that you want are available. A domain name is what you want to call your website and an extension indicates what the company does. The extension is managed by a registry. The most common websites, .coms, are normally for-profit businesses, while .govs are run by the government, and .orgs are normally run by non-profit businesses. If you own a for-profit business, owning the .com you want is very important.
The registrar will search to see if the name and extension you want are available or if it is owned by someone else. Even though you may have trademarked your business name, someone else may own the domain name. No one can own a domain name in perpetuity. However, they can be bought for as long as 10 years.
Although another business may have every right to buy a website containing your trademarked name, they do not necessarily have the right to do business under that name. Especially if the business they are in is similar to yours. Your trademark would prevent them from using your name for commerce.
Greenberg & Lieberman LLC, located in Washington DC, can represent you if another company is using a website to infringe on your trademark rights. If another company simply owns the name you want, we can assist you with buying the domain name from them. We can arrange for domain escrow services. An escrow service is a company that holds the money while the website name is being transferred.
Cybersquatting
In some cases, a person or business will register internet domains for well-known brands in the hopes of reselling them to the company at a profit. Although most well-known companies are savvy enough not to let this happen, cybersquatting still happens. They may try to buy the same domain name at a different extension. For example, the Coca-Cola company may own coke.com, but someone else may come along and buy Coke.net.
Sometimes a rival company will buy your domain name in order to hurt your business or your reputation. This is certainly grounds for a lawsuit and Greenberg & Lieberman LLC can represent you in court.
Cybersquatting is illegal because people who do it have no intention of using the domain to sell products or services or even express an opinion. It violates the Anti Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). If your company is a victim of cybersquatting, we can sue the perpetrator.
Why You Should Hire Us
There are a lot of Internet lawyers out there. Many of them deal with large companies that have to deal with multiple lawsuits. We are a boutique company that gives each one of our clients the personal attention that they deserve.
In addition to internet law we are trained in trade secrets and copyright law. We can help your company with any legal issues it has.
Our Washington DC attorneys are trained in both negotiations and civil litigation technology law. We are committed to assisting internet companies with technology law issues. We will fight hard to protect your trademark, your domain name, and your online business.