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Archive for the ‘General’ CategoryKeeping it clean: trade mark owners and .xxx domainsMonday, July 11th, 2011 In September 2011, the adult industry will get its own internet ‘red light district’ when the new .xxx top-level domains become available for registration. ICM Registry, which has been approved by ICANN to administer the .xxx TLDs, has announced a pre-registration ‘sunrise’ period, starting on 7 September 2011 and running for 30 days. In Sunrise A, members of the adult entertainment industry will be able to pre-reserve their desired .xxx domain names. In Sunrise B, which will run concurrently with Sunrise A, trade mark owners in non-adult industries will be able to pre-emptively block the registration of a .xxx domain name that matches their trade mark. It’s a defensive measure that ensures that a brand is not associated with explicit or adult-oriented content by removing the associated .xxx domain name from the pool of domain names able to registered. The important points:
Sunrise B opens soon and will run for a very limited time. Contact us to take advantage of this one-time opportunity to pre-emptively keep your valuable brands out of the .xxx neighbourhood.  Tags: domain law, domain lawyer, domain lawyers, domain name law, ICANN, technology law, trademark, trademark registration Optus hit with $5.26 million fineMonday, July 11th, 2011 Optus has been hit with a $5.26m penalty in the Federal Court, for falsely advertising broadband download quotas. The decision heralds a new level of risk in communications advertising in Australia. The clear rule is that high-powered headlines plus small print equals advertising danger. This bulletin explains:
What Optus advertised (a) In April 2010, Optus campaigned for a new range of ‘Think Bigger’ broadband plans. (b) Each plan included a large data allowance (120/150/170GB) divided into ‘peak’ and ‘off-peak’ entitlements eg the 120GB plan was advertised with 50GB peak usage and 70GB off-peak usage allowance. (c) The disclaimers stated: ‘Speed limited once peak data exceeded’. How the advertised plans really worked (a) When peak allowance was used, entire service was shaped to 64kbps for rest of month. (b) Shaping applied to remaining off-peak allowance as well. (c) So, for instance, if customer used whole 50GB peak allowance first, then entire 70GB off-peak allowance shaped to 64kbps. (d) But if off-peak was exhausted first, further off-peak MBs were deducted from peak allowance, and shaping applied when that was exhausted. How Optus defended the plans Optus said that ‘Speed limited once peak data exceeded’ was a sufficient explanation: Once your peak allowance is reached, speed is limited. Why ACCC took action ACCC disagreed that the disclaimer was a clear and proper explanation. It argued: (a) Public would assume that peak and off-peak entitlements were independent. (b) Public would not understand that exhausting peak use would result in off-peak speed shaping to non-broadband speed. What the court said and did in 2010 (a) The court agreed with ACCC. (b) Court said that ordinary people simply wouldn’t understand the full rules of the plans, based on the advertising. (c) Court particularly attacked ‘headline advertising’ where a powerful headline told one story and small print told a different story. (d) Said there was:
(e) 29 October 2010: Court ruled that advertising was deceptive. (f) 2 November 2010: Court banned Optus from repeating that kind of advertising for 3 years[1]. (g) 19 November 2010: Court ordered Optus to write to all affected customers offering remedies. (h) 8 December 2010: Court held a penalty hearing. What the court did on 7 July 2011 Announcing the result of the penalty hearing, the court ruled that Optus must pay the Commonwealth a pecuniary penalty of $5.26m. Why a $5.26m penalty is now possible (a) Before 2010, no financial penalty was possible under the law in a case like this. (b) In 2010, the Competition and Consumer Act[2] (‘CCA’) was amended to allow the court to impose penalties on a company of up to $1.1m per breach of certain sections of the CCA. That includes breaches of the law against misleading about ‘the quantity of services’. Other provisions that can attract penalties The new penalties are available for a wide range of breaches that communications providers should keep in mind. Here’s a non-exhaustive list: (a) misrepresentations that goods are of a particular standard, quality, value, grade, composition, style or model (b) misrepresentations that services are of a particular standard, quality, value or grade (c) misrepresentations that a particular person has agreed to acquire goods or services (d) misrepresentations that goods or services have sponsorship, approval, performance characteristics, accessories, uses or benefits (e) misrepresentation that the person making the representation has a sponsorship, approval or affiliation (f) misrepresentation with respect to the price of goods or services (g) misrepresentation concerning the availability of facilities for the repair of goods or of spare parts for goods (h) misrepresentation concerning the need for any goods or services. Summary Obviously, communications advertising has just become more challenging. It’s a strong argument for having every advertisement checked by an expert in the area. [1] That doesn’t make it legal in three years. It means that, should Optus break the ban, it will incur even higher penalties. [2] As it is now called … it was then the Trade Practices Act. Tags: Federal Court of Australia, ISP, isp law, ISP Lawyers, MIsleading and Deceptive Conduct, Optus, telecommunications law, Telecommunications Lawyers, Trade Practices Law ICANN Approves New GTLDsMonday, June 20th, 2011 The ICANN Board meeting in Singapore, today approved the expansion of top level domain names. The vote means that applicants may now seek to create their own domain name extension, for example .sport, .music and .bank. In announcing the result of the vote, President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN, Rod Beckstrom said:
The board vote was 13 vote for, 1 against, with 2 abstentions. People or organisations wishing to create their own top level extension will need to comply with the Applicant Guide Book, which includes a requirement for the payment of a $185,000 application fee. It is expected that there will be hot competition for generic extensions such as .food. Tags: domain law, domain lawyer, domain name law, ICANN, new GTLDS, technology lawyer Cooper Mills Bulletin on ACMA DNCR Industry StandardWednesday, June 8th, 2011 The Australian Communications and Media Authority foreshadows changes to telemarketing rules contained in the Telecommunications (Do Not Call Register) (Telemarketing and Research Calls) Industry Standard 2007. Some of the proposed changes include:
For more detail on the proposed changes, you can download the Cooper Mills Bulletin here.
Tags: ACMA, Do Not Call Register, IT Law, technology law, Telco Law, telecommunications law, telecommunications lawyer Cooper Mills Bulletin on ACMA CrackdownWednesday, June 1st, 2011 The Australian Communications and Media Authority today foreshadowed six telco / ISP action areas it intends to address. While the six areas are described as ‘proposals’, ACMA is making it very clear that they will become law. ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman is reported in today’s Age Online as follows: Telcos will be given time to implement ACMA’s recommendations in their own self-regulatory industry codes but if they do not do so in a satisfactory way ACMA said it would force them to do so with new regulations. “The outcomes that we are seeking … are non-negotiable,” Mr Chapman said. There will be a six-week consultation period after which ACMA expects the industry to begin implementing its recommendations. “The die is cast, we’ve put it all out there in the report, the ‘guidance’ has been provided … the clock is ticking,” he said. You can read more about in the Cooper Mills Telecommunications Law Bulletin. Tags: ACMA, Chris Chapman, ISP, isp law, IT Law, Telco, Telco Lawyers, Telecom Lawyers, Telecommunications Lawyers National Cyber Security Awareness Week StartsMonday, May 30th, 2011 National Cyber Security Awareness Week starts today and runs to 3 June. It is an initiative of the Australian Government, with a number of government agencies and business becoming involved in partnership. This year it has added significance with internet security breaches increasing, including high profile security breaches involving Sony and Vodafone customers. The aim of National Cyber Security Awareness Week is to protect online security and online privacy. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has published a summary of some simple things that everyone can do to improve online security:
Tags: Internet Security, IT Law, National Cyber Security Awareness Week, Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Privacy Law, Privacy Lawyer, technology lawyer LawcastWednesday, May 25th, 2011 We are currently preparing our new Lawcast series. Stay tuned for our exciting legal information series – LAWCAST. Tags: Lawcast ‘Max Cap’ lands Optus in Hot WaterThursday, May 19th, 2011 The ACCC has fined Singtel Optus Pty Ltd $178,000 for misleading conduct arising out of its ‘Max Cap’ marketing campaign. The ACCC’s view is that the Optus’ Max Cap advertisements:
The advertisements at issue contained the Max Cap $49, which wasn’t a cap, but rather the minimum a customer would need to spend. In commenting on the conduct of concern to the ACCC, acting ACCC Chairman Mr Peter Kell said: “If you advertise a service as a ‘$49 Max Cap’ when $49 is the minimum that consumers have to pay, then you risk breaching the law by misleading consumers about the cost of the service,” and “Claims that a service allows consumers to call ‘anyone’ are likely to be misleading if the reality is that some types of calls are excluded“. All ISPs and Telcos should have a process in place to review advertisements, not only to ensure compliance with the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 but also the Telecommunications Consumer Protections Code. Tags: Competition and Consumer Act 2010, technology lawyers, Telco Law, Telecom Lawyers, telecommunications law, Telecommunications Lawyers ICA files letter of comment on URSMonday, May 16th, 2011 The Internet Commerce Association (ICA), the peak body representing domain name investors and developers, has filed its letter of comment to ICANN concerning the revised Verisign contract for the operation of the .Net registry. As part of the contract review process, ICANN is being lobbied by intellectual property owners to implement a draconian Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) system in the .Net space. The URS has been proposed for new GTLDs, and there are now moves to introduce it into the .Net space by intellectual property holders. The ICA is opposed to the implementation of the URS. In the ICA’s letter to ICANN it argues that (in relation to the URS):
Among its submissions the ICA also says:
To view a full copy of the ICA submissions click here. Tags: domain lawyer, domain name lawyers, ICA, IT Law, lawyers, technology law, technology lawyer Microsoft to Buy Skype for $8.5 BillionThursday, May 12th, 2011 In one of the largest acquisitions in recent history Microsoft is set to acquire Skype for $8.5 billion. Microsoft hopes to use the acquisition to bolster its real time communications strategy to supplement Lync, Outlook, Messenger, Hotmail and Xbox LIVE In 2010 Skype was reported to have ’170 million connected users and over 207 billion minutes of voice and video conversations’. According to Microsoft, ‘Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect, Windows Phone and a wide array of Windows devices, and Microsoft will connect Skype users with Lync, Outlook, Xbox Live and other communities. Microsoft will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms‘. While Microsoft has pledged to continue supporting non Microsoft platforms, critics have claimed that the acquisition could eventually lead to Skype only being supported on Microsoft platforms. Tags: IT Law, IT Lawyer, Microsoft, Skype, technology law, technology lawyer, telecommunications law |
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