Conflicts Between Domain Name Right And Trademark Right And The Related Countermeasures

While the development of the Internet has changed the human society as a whole profoundly and rapidly, it also brings the people much convenience and infinite opportunities. But at the same time, the current law system is faced with great challenges from the Internet. In the law field, many traditional views are shocked and argues are induced among scholars. Particularly, conflicts induced by domain name, which between domain name right and trademark right especially, is one of the hot topics in recent years. Therefore, how to solve the above mentioned conflict concerns the maintenance of normal economic order and the healthy development of the Internet. Compared with the prosperity of domain name, the construction of its legal system is relatively backward. As far as it goes, there has been no definite conclusion on whether the domain name is an independent right. Nor our country has issued the specific law of the domain name protection. In order to reduce the increasing legal conflicts about domain name, the international community and countries are trying to make useful practice, which has resulted in some success. However, the limitation of international rules and domestic legislation fails to solve the problems in reality. Nevertheless, the ultimate solution depends on the confirmation of the lawful status of domain name right. In this paper, theoretical discussion about conflicts between domain name right and trademark right will be presented from a legal perspective. Following a brief introduction of the meaning of domain name, presenting that domain name right is an independent right in intellectual property right field will be discussed by referring to related law regulations and scholars'views and issues. Then some suggestions for solutions to conflicts between domain name right and trademark right are raised through analysis of the reasons and main types of these conflicts and on the basic of the international organizations'as well as main developed countries'previous solutions to the conflicts, in order to help improving the protection system for domain name and related intellectual property law.With the exception of introduction and conclusion, the paper is divided into four parts:The first part illustrates the domain name and the domain name right and the trademark right. The writer outlines the definition, feature, birth, development, function, the way to obtain, and the legal nature of the domain name. The writer considers that the domain name has both general characteristic to achieve intellectual property rights, and the unique characteristic different from other intellectual property rights. Therefore, the domain name is one kind of independent intellectual property rights in parallel with trademark. And then, the relation and difference between domain name right and trademark right are found out by comparison.The second part summarizes the main types of conflicts between the domain name and the trademark right and analyzes the causes.The third part compares and refers solutions to disputes of domain name right and trademark right home and abroad, and points out the problems of existing conflict resolution mechanisms in China by analysis.The fourth part proposes countermeasures of conflicts between domain name right and trademark right and methods for improving protections system for domain name from political and legal perspective, including principles and the urgency of special legislation according with the situation of our country.