COURT LAYS DOWN THE LAW ON LABELS FOR WEB SITES A panel of judges from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco addressed the issue of Internet meta tags in a decision issued on April 22. ... In the case, Brookfield Communications vs. West Coast Entertainment, the court ruled that it is a trademark infringement for a competitor's trademark in its meta tag. West Coast Video was using the term "Moviebuff" as a meta tag, which is a trademark of Brookfield Communications. "Using another's trademark in one's meta tags is much like posting a sign with another's trademark in front of one's store," said Judge Dairymaid F. O'Scannlain. However, the court said that it is lawful for a company to use a meta tag if it is a description. For example, the court noted a lower court's ruling in the case of Terri Welles, a former Playmate of the Year, who was using the term Playmate as a meta tag to her site. The court ruled her use of "Playmate" as a meta tag is lawful because it is a descriptive term. Likewise, West Coast video can use the two-word descriptive space "movie buff" -- minding the space between the words. In addition, the court said a Web site could use a competitor's trademark as a meta tag if they explicitly refer to the company in the visual portion of the site compares the competitor's goods or services. Michael Fromkin, a professor at the University of Miami Law school, says the decision should be praised for displaying thoughtful consideration and sophisticated understanding of the Internet. [SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Carl S. Kaplan http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/04/cyber/articles/30piracy. html ] ========= BTW, the US House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection has postponed its hearing on Reauthorization of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), originally scheduled for Thursday 4/29 -- no new date has been set. kerry
