Internet Law – Rivera Law Group

Trademark Infringement

Internet Trademark Infringement

Businesses spend significant time and resources creating, marketing, and promoting their and logos as well as the names and logos of their products. When a business creates a website, the logos and unique marks developed by the business are easily exposed for others to download, use, and in many cases utilize to compete against the owner of the trademark or trade name.

Similarly, cybersquatters may register domain names containing a business’ trade name or trademark. These domain name cybersquatters may intend to profit from the brand recognition, create customer confusion to promote competing products, or simply want to sell the domain name to the trademark owner for a profit.

In addition to trademark infringement in domain name registration, online trademark infringement occurs frequently in domain name registration, meta tags, and keyword search advertising. As your online trademark infringement lawyers, we provide you advice on how to protect your Intellectual Property against all Internet based trademark infringement. Some instances of Internet trademark infringement include:

Trademark Infringement in Domain Names, Cybersquatting, and Cyber-piracy – Internet trademark infringement may occur as a result of the registration of a domain name in violation of the rights of a trademark owner. Our trademark infringement attorneys can assist you in protecting your trademark rights from cybersquatters and cyber-pirates and can also assist you in recovering your domain name.

Trademark Infringement in Meta Tags – What happens when a website owner uses another entity’s trademarks as meta tags? Is it trademark infringement? We frequently handle issues of Internet trademark infringement resulting from the use of a trademark as a meta tag. A trademark infringement attorney with our firm will assist you in evaluating the situation and stopping the infringing conduct.

Trademark Infringement in Keyword Search Advertising – Web searches are the primary method used for finding goods and services on the Internet. Therefore, online keyword advertising is a very popular and effective method of Internet advertisement. Can a business use its competitor’s name and/or trademark as a search keyword without engaging in online trademark infringement? An Internet trademark infringement can evaluate your particular situation and provide you with sound trademark infringement advice and stop the infringement against your trademark.

Our Internet trademark infringement attorneys assist our clients in stopping Internet trademark infringement and cybersquatting. We frequently deal with Internet trademark infringement issues, for example:

* A competitor registered a domain name containing a business’ federally registered trademark. Intervention from an Internet trademark infringement and cybersquatting attorney is required to keep the competitor from stealing the business’ Internet traffic.
* A competitor utilized a registered trademark as an Internet search engine keyword. The assistance of a trademark infringement attorney is necessary to keep the competitor from obtaining Internet traffic rightfully belonging to the trademark owner.
* A business receives a cease and desist letter accusing it of Internet trademark infringement. The trademark in question is not unique and should have never qualified for trademark protection in the first place. An Internet trademark lawyer intervenes to stop the bullying and idle threats of litigation against the business.
* A business’ website is removed from the major search engines as a result of false accusations of trademark infringement. Prompt action is required to secure the survival of the business.

When you need the services of an Internet trademark infringement attorney, Internet trademark lawyer, cyber squatting lawyer, cyber-piracy legal practitioner… we understand Internet trademark law.

Domain Names

Domain Name Dispute Lawyer

Our domain name lawyers assist our clients with issues pertaining to domain name laws. The laws applying to domain name issues and domain name disputes are specialized and it is best to get advice from an experienced domain name lawyer. As domain name attorneys, we regularly advise our clients about complex domain name issues. Some of these include:

The Truth in Domain Names Act – This act forbids the use of a misleading domain name to: 1) trick a person into viewing content that is obscene; or 2) trick a minor into viewing material that is harmful to minors. Our Internet lawyers and domain name attorneys are there to assist you should you have legal problems with the authorities, your domain name registrar, or your affiliates.

Trademark Infringement in Domain Names, Cybersquatting and the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act – A Cybersquatter is a person who registers a domain name in bad faith in violation of the rights of a trademark owner. The Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) further protects trademark owners. An action under the ACPA requires a showing that a domain registrant had a “bad faith intent to profit” from the trademark owner’s trademark and that the registrant registered or used a domain name identical or confusingly similar to the trademark. Whether a cybersquatter has registered a domain name containing your trademark or whether you are accused of being a cybersquatter, our domain name lawyers and cybersquatting attorneys are prepared to defend your rights, protect your trademark, and assist you with all your Internet Law or Domain Name Law issues.

The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) – The UDRP is an arbitration process which provides an alternative to the filing of a lawsuit in order to facilitate the resolution of domain name disputes. To prevail in an UDRP proceeding, a complainant must prove that 1) the domain names are either identical or confusingly similar, 2) that the registrant has no legitimate interest in the name, and 3) that the registration and use of the domain name is in bad faith. The procedure is overseen by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Effective UDRP legal representation requires the expertise of an effective and experienced domain name lawyer. Our domain name attorneys understand domain name law.

We are domain name lawyers, UDRP attorneys, cybersquatting lawyers, and domain name law consultants.

Commercial Email SPAM

Commercial Email, SPAM, and the CAN-SPAM Act
Our Internet Lawyers frequently handle matters related to Internet Spam Laws and the CAN-SPAM Act. We frequently encounter this scenario: A business is interested in sending legally compliant commercial email. Or perhaps, a business’ servers are working at a snail’s pace and your IT staff is working overtime to control the bombardment of unsolicited bulk emails.

It is very important to seek the assistance of an attorney who understands the legal implications and ramifications of spam laws, the most important of which is that CAN-SPAM Act.

The CAN-SPAM Act is codified under 15 U.S.C. § 7701-7713. Contrary to the belief of many, the CAN-SPAM Act does not prohibit sending spam emails. Instead, it imposes certain requirements. These mandatory requirements include the use of accurate email subject lines and transmission information, opt-out procedures where recipients can elect not to receive additional emails from the sender, mandatory time frames for the removal of users who elect to opt-out, and a prohibition of improper email harvesting.

But, what happens when a sender complies with all the requirements of CAN-SPAM? Can an ISP still refuse to deliver compliant email messages to the intended recipients?

Non-compliance with CAN-SPAM will probably result in criminal prosecution under SPAM laws and other cyber crime laws, but compliance does not guarantee that an overzealous ISP will deliver the legally compliant emails to its intended recipients.

Our attorneys understand Spam Laws and the CAN-SPAM Act. If you or your business needs the advice of a spam attorney, we are ready to assist you. We frequently advise businesses to structure their commercial email campaign in a manner that adequately manages business risk and limits business liability. We frequently deal with all civil and criminal aspects of commercial bulk email, for example:

* A business requests the services of an Internet lawyer with CAN-SPAM compliance understanding to make sure that its commercial email campaign is properly implemented.
* An individual receives a cease and desist letter from an attorney accusing him of sending illegal spam emails and demanding a large amount of monetary damages. The cease and desist letter also threatens civil and criminal prosecution. A commercial email spam defense lawyer evaluates the situation and responds to the baseless allegations of sending illegal commercial email.
* An individual faces criminal charges alleging that he sent thousands of spam email in violation of state and federal law. A spam email defense attorney analyzes the electronic evidence and forensic records to build an effective defense.

Website Documents

Internet Contracts Lawyer

Our Internet Contracts Law attorneys assist clients in preparing, negotiating, interpreting, and litigating Internet contracts. With our unique business and technical qualifications, we can provide you with a business and technical perspective to assist your decision-making process.

Contractual issues that are not properly managed can cost you. Whether you need expert legal advice regarding affiliate marketing agreements, website development contracts, terms of use, privacy policy. or any other website documents and contracts, our attorneys can provide you with Internet Law legal advice.

Internet Privacy

Internet Privacy

In the Internet age, the right to privacy has taken many twists and turns. Some states have enacted statutes criminalizing computer invasion of privacy.

In a worldwide market, how can the protections against the appropriation of name and likeness, online defamation, intrusion into seclusion, false light in the public eye, and public disclosure of private facts be preserved? In fact, can you comfortably say that as you read this page there is no spyware program which is lodged deep within your system tracking your every move? Internet privacy is a complex legal area and requires the knowledge that our Internet privacy attorneys can provide.

As an example, take email privacy at your place of employment:

Some courts have held that Your employer can lie to you about reading your emails… and then fire you for relying on these lies! Most employees probably know that the emails sent from their work email accounts are probably being monitored.

However, what if your employer repeatedly assures you that all e-mail communications would remain confidential and privileged? What if your employer tells you that e-mail communications could not be intercepted and used against you as grounds for termination or reprimand? Can your employer still intercept your emails, read them, and then fire you for the contents…? The answer may surprise you… and make you realize that the assistance of an Internet Law attorney is paramount.

In Smyth v. Pillsbury Co., 914 F. Supp. 97 (1996), Pillsbury maintained a company e-mail system which the employees used to communicate among themselves. Mr. Smyth was an employee of Pillsbury. Pillsbury assured Mr. Smyth as well as the other employees that all e-mail communications would remain confidential and privileged and that the e-mail communications could not be intercepted and used against the employees as grounds for termination or reprimand. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania surprisingly held that despite the assurances made by Pillsbury, its employees did not have a “reasonable expectation of privacy in e-mail communications voluntarily made by an employee to his supervisor over the company e-mail system.” The Court went on to hold that no “reasonable person would consider the . . . interception of these communications to be a substantial and highly offensive invasion of his privacy.”

The Pillsbury case, although decided under Pennsylvania law and dating back to 1996, has been cited with approval by courts in other states, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Oregon, and Texas.

Domingo Rivera

Domingo J. Rivera, Internet Lawyer

An Internet Law pioneer with a proven record, Domingo J. Rivera was the first attorney in the United States to win a complex jury trial involving Federal Copyright Infringement, music piracy criminal allegations.

Domingo J. Rivera earned a BS in Computer Engineering, an MBA with a specialty in Information Technology Management, and a Doctorate of Jurisprudence. Domingo J. Rivera is also a registered Electrical Engineering E.I.T. in the State of Florida.

Prior to attending law school, he was a US Navy Engineering Officer, and was lead engineer for the Homeland Security Headquarters located in Norfolk, Virginia. In that capacity, Mr. Rivera held a Department of Defense Top Secret Clearance with NATO access.

Domingo J. Rivera has over ten years of software programming and development. His technical abilities are exceptional, with advanced knowledge of most popular computer programming languages including C++, PHP, CGI, Pascal, Java, Visual Basic, HTML, XML, and several other programming languages.

Domingo J. Rivera, Internet Lawyer, is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Virginia State Bar, the American Bar Association, and the Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is also fluent in the Spanish language.

When the Department of Defense needed a technical and management person to lead one its most important projects during a critical time in the history of the United States, Domingo J. Rivera received the call. As your Internet Lawyer, Domingo J. Rivera will apply the same high standards to assist you with your Internet Law case. You should expect no less from your Internet Lawyer.

Copyright

Copyright

A copyright is the legal protection for the artistic and literary work that you create. Copyrightable items include music, books, websites, graphics, poetry, stories, and software. Your copyrighted works may not be copied, reproduced, distributed or displayed without your consent.

Registration, although not required is advisable and important if you wish to protect your work. Copyright registration provides significant benefits, including evidence that you created your own works. It is significantly more difficult to maintain a legal action for copyright infringement when you have not obtained a copyright registration for your works and have to prove to a court that you actually created your own work.

Additionally, there are advantages in case you are faced with litigation. For example, if you are forced into litigation to protect your copyright rights, a court may award significant damages for copyright infringement, including statutory damages of up to $150,000, and reimbursement for your attorney’s fees and costs for the infringement of your copyright rights. However, under U.S. Copyright Laws, you obtain a copyright to your works the moment your works are created and registration is not required to maintain a cause of action for trademark infringement. If your copyright is not registered, you will need to prove actual damages, as opposed to the presumed statutory damages provided for works protected by a registered copyright.

Even if your website is not registered, your content is still protected under U.S. Copyright Laws and you can maintain an action for Internet copyright infringement. As you Internet copyright infringement attorney, we understand Internet copyright laws, U.S. Copyright Act, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and the application of copyright laws to Internet copyright matters.

Trademark

Trademark

A Trademark identifies your company’s goods from the goods of your competitors or other third parties. Trademark Registration allows you to keep your competitors from using your company or product name, symbol or design.

When you register a Trademark, you are legally presumed to be the owner of the mark and you can stop others from using a name that is confusingly similar to your trademark. Additionally, registration of your Trademark allows you to obtain up to three times the amount of your losses if you have to sue for infringement of your registered Trademark. However, registration is not required in order for you to be able to maintain a cause of action for trademark infringement.

Internet trademark infringement occurs frequently in domain name registration, meta tags, and keyword search advertising. As your cyber trademark lawyer, we provide you advice on how to protect your trademark rights against Internet trademark infringement. Some instances of Internet trademark infringement include:

Trademark Infringement in Domain Names, Cybersquatting, and Cyber-piracy

Trademark Infringement in Meta Tags

Trademark Infringement in Keyword Search Advertising

We are your Internet trademark infringement attorney, Internet trademark lawyer, Cybersquatting legal counsel, cyber-piracy legal adviser and trademark law professional.

Cease and Desist Letter

Cease and Desist Notice

You may need an Internet lawyer to assist you with the preparation of a cease and desist letter when your business is the victim of Internet copyright infringement, Internet trademark infringement, Internet defamation, domain name legal issues, or other Internet law issues.

Your Internet business may need an effective cease and desist letter to prevent your competitors from copying the contents of your website in order to take advantage of the success of your online business…. or you may have received an Internet copyright infringement cease and desist notice from an Internet copyright infringement lawyer or Internet trademark infringement lawyer asking you for a significant amount of monetary damages. In addition the copyright infringement cease and desist notice written may contain threats indicating that your company will be the target of a copyright infringement lawsuit, and an injunction against Internet copyright infringement. Our Internet lawyers can provide assistance in drafting an effective cease and desist notice or responding to a cease and desist notice.

Effective handling of the cease and desist letter may determine whether or not expensive court litigation will be necessary to resolve the legal dispute.

Internet Trial Attorney

An Internet Law pioneer with a proven record, Domingo J. Rivera was the first attorney in the United States to win a complex jury trial involving Federal Copyright Infringement, music piracy criminal allegations.
The importance of having a computer expert as your Internet trial attorney

During a cyber trial, whether related to copyright infringement, trademark infringement, domain name dispute, Internet defamation, or a computer crime trial, it is extremely important to have an attorney who has not only legal subject matter knowledge, but is also experienced in computer technology and the technical concepts related to the Internet. We recently completed a long and complex cyber crime trial. We were fully equipped to expertly handle the criminal defense aspects of the case, we knew the law, how to cross-examine witnesses, and how to establish reasonable doubt. However, during the trial, it was our technical knowledge that allowed us to provide a unique perspective to the evidence presented.

The evidence presented at trial contained technical details that only an attorney with Internet technology knowledge would have recognized. Your Internet lawyer must not only be effective in arguing Internet law, but must have superior technical knowledge to recognize complex technical issues “on the spot.”

It takes a lot of finesse, patience, and competence to explain to effectively explain technical issues to the court. The typical non-technical attorney attempting to venture into Internet law may not understanding these technical concepts. Our expertise includes technical degrees in Computer Engineering and years of Internet technology experience.