Public Lecture 

International Aspects of Trade Marks, Domain Names, E-commerce and the
Internet

by Dr Christopher Heath, Max Planck Institute, Munich

6pm Tuesday 12 March

Stone Lecture Theatre, Law School


(Please RSVP Alexandra Sims at a.sims@auckland.ac.nz)

Dr Heath will discuss the interrelationship between trade mark law and
domain names, e-commerce and the Internet.  In the new world without
borders, trade mark law with its territorial nature is an uneasy fit.
Trade mark owners understandably wish to retain and even expand the
control over their valuable trade marks.  On the other hand, the
freedom to choose a domain name, a company name and even the words
used on a web page, can be severely limited by trade mark law.  If two
businesses are legitimately using the same trade mark in the off-line
world, can both continue to use that trade mark on the on-line world,
or will only one of them succeed?  Who will decide these disputes, and
how should they ecided?

Dr Christopher Heath has an extensive international reputation
in international intellectual property law and competition law, and is
head of the Asia Department at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign
and International Patent, Copyright and Competition Law in Munich.