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Domain Names and their conflict with the Trademark Registration

Considering factors such as the continuing globalization, the increase in the marketing of products and services, not only in the country of origin but at the global level, and the promotion of the same through the internet, we can evidence how every time there are more situations and conflicts between the use of new technologies and Intellectual Property rights, such as the violation of the trademark registrations rights by means of domain names.

In this regard, it should be noted that Internet addresses, represented by the acronyms (or generic abbreviations) that identifies among other things, services, entities or activities such as .com, .net, .org, .edu and .gov among others, have become the network as identifiers of the provision of services and marketing of products around the world, opening a higher space to the ciber commerce (e-commerce and e-business).

However, other intellectual creations and protected rights as trademark registrations have been violated by the already mentioned identifiers of web sites, forging conflicts between them and generating an obvious crisis of the trademark system due to the territoriality of the same and the global coverage of domain names.

According to the above, it was determined the establishment of an effective and expeditious procedure to protect the intellectual creations, whereby in cases of bad faith, abusive registration (identical or deceivingly similar name, lack of legitimate right over the domain, use in bad faith) or that constitute ciber occupation by the applicant of the domain registration, the trademark owner may initiate an administrative procedure at any time in order to assert their right.

For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that in the event of conflicts between a domain name registration and a prior trademark registration, the right of the trademark registration holder will prevail as has been shown in the Colombian cases of Bancolombia.com, casaeditorialeltiempo.com and trasmilenio.com among others.