Cyber Criminal

URL theft by a partner or co-owner: We receive calls every week from companies who essentially tell us that an ex-partner or company owner has taken control of their domain registrations and that the now-ex-partner refuses to release the stolen name to the company. Perhaps the name was registered initially in one partner’s name. In some cases, that business owner redirects the domain to another website, essentially putting the online business out of business. More often, the business owner demands some sort or money or other consideration in exchange for the domain name. Essentially, they use the URL as leverage to obtain something they couldn’t achieve in the context of the partnership. This is perhaps the most common example of domain name theft. Domain names stolen in this fashion account for about 25% of the calls and emails we receive in the domain theft area.

URLTheft by Employees: Unfortunately, corporate management is rarely involved in the registration process of their domain names. Registration of domains is often handled by the IT department, and even delegated to lower level web site employees. Because of the high turnover rate at that level, the employee with access to the domain registrant login information ends up leaving the company, taking that information with them. Again, if there is a dispute with the employee, it often turns into a domain name dispute after termination. Once the domain registrant information is stolen, it can be difficult to retrieve.

URL Theft by Vendors: Sometimes, a technology vendor or web site developer uses their own information to register your companies domain name, even going so far as to list their company as the registrant of your trademarks. If a billing dispute arises down the line, the web developer uses the URL as leverage to get paid. Even more common, the web vendor goes out of business and the company doesn’t realize that they have no way of obtaining control of the domain name or even renewing the domain name at the end of the registration period. If a domain name is stolen by the web developer or vendor, you could be in big trouble if the vendor’s company folds, the web developer moves away or you become the target of cyber-extortion.

The words “someone stole my domain name” are words said far too often in our business. Companies must take their intellectual property rights more seriously and protect their intangible assets like they do other tangible property. An ounce of prevention is really worth a pound of cure. Control your registrant login and you will control your domain name from theft.

Mr. Schaefer is a seasoned trial attorney practicing internet, domain and trademark law on a global basis. Mr. Schaefer has first chair trial experience in a wide variety of litigation matters, including class action litigation, internet and domain law, cybersquatting actions, intellectual property, commercial and fiduciary litigation, UDRP and IP licensing. He has represented some of the largest companies in the world in litigation, domain name, trademark and related matters. He is a frequent author and presenter on issues related to protecting business interests in a global internet economy. To find out more about trademark protection, copyright law, cybersquatting and complex litigation, please visit Traverse Legal, PLC or visit our domain name protection blog or cybersquatting blog Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Enrico_Schaefer

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Peaceful elections

Dalip Singh Wasan, Advocate

After assassination of Mrs. Benazir Bhuto, we the people of the world must have an introspection and we must come to the conclusion that we should stop carrying on propaganda in streets. Time has come when each candidate standing in elections should draw his own bio data and display the same through hand bills or through other sources of the media and should not collect people in processions, rallies, meetings or the like. He should be allowed to speak through the radio or through the TV channels, but in no case he should be allowed to collect people just to listen to him. Similarly the political parties may also come forward through their manifestoes and they may bring to the notice of the people what they have got in their planning list. That is enough. It seems ridiculous when they come on stages and give us false slogans as they are selling something to us.

Time has come when these political parties should reduce their numbers. If they have started joining in alliances after elections, they should join before elections. The formation of alliances is not foreign to our countries and it is further on record that all the political parties are functioning just on slogans and they have got no policy with them. As far as India is concerned, here political parties are like cooperative societies and some people come forward, form a political party and then they divide the offices amongst themselves. Then they start collecting people in the parties and these parties are taking part in elections. The people taken in these political parties are not people from amongst the people, but they are rich people who can afford these costly elections. They are not in a position to tell us as to who shall be their minister of education, minister of industry or the like and when they win, they start distributing ministries not on the basis of merits, but on the basis of shares in the alliance. That is the reason most of the departments are not with the competent and expert people and that is the reason most part of the government has already turned bureaucracy where the bureaucracy passes the orders and the ministers just sign the orders. Had there been system of shadow cabinets, the people could have elected competent people. But here in India we have left everything on political parties and that is the reason we are not getting right type of people on the right job.

The people of the world must decide that henceforth there shall be no procession, rally or meeting and every political party shall come forward and talk to the people through media resources and they shall not collect the people around them like jugglers. They are to run the state and not a show and therefore, they should be serious. They must learn a lesson from the assassination of Mrs. Benazir Bhuto who had been taken away from us and had she avoided coming in public and avoiding exposure, she would have been with us. She was the hope of the people of Pakistan who lost her and now they are in fix to find out the real person who had killed her. The political people shall be in the houses if they are competent and have got merits. The people know them and they also know their worth. coming on stages, would not raise their standards. The people and the state must consider these points and come forward with a law banning all rallies, processions, meeting and sessions. That is the only solution and we should not delay this subject.

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