B.
Domain
Name Registration: Domain Names are registered through
the international domain name registration directory,
known as "Internic". Domain are the names used as a
convenient way to locate information on the Internet
and they correspond to Internet protocol numbers.
(1)
There
are various registration agents that are authorized
to submit domain name requests to Internic.
(2)
Cyber
Squatters: Cyber Squatters are persons who register
domain names speculatively, in order to sell them at
a later date. This has become a developed industry with
companies that are exclusively focused on being domain
name merchants. If the domain name is not currently
associated with a registered business, the practice
is totally legal. There is currently a domain name dispute
policy that has been set up by Internet Corporation
for the Registration of Assigned Name and Numbers
(3)
("ICANN")
A.
Intellectual
Property rights Overview
(1)
Confidentiality
Statement: Companies and individuals using email include
should include confidentiality statements warning persons
who intercept the email that the communication is private,
should not be used or disclosed to third parties and
that they should immediately notify the sender.
(2)
Sensitizing
Employees:
(a)
Reminders:
Reminders can include a statement to employees that
the email they are using is intended for business purposes
only. It is also advised that there be a reminder that
email system being used is not encrypted and may be
subject to interception by third parties. Highly sensitive
or private communications should probably not be sent
by standard email, but should be encrypted instead.
(b)
Case
law from the United States demonstrates that email carries
an expectation of privacy that can be legally protected.
However, other factors can be considered, such as a
"for business use only" warning to employees, that would
allow such email to be disclosed to employers. Courts
in the United States have also ruled that email documents
may be subpoenaed for use in court. Defendants have
challenged a third party's rights to disclose or to
subpoena their email based on legal defenses that include
invasion of privacy and assertion of wiretapping and
eavesdropping Statutes
(c)
Policy
regarding company privacy: Businesses should develop
specific policies concerning their email usage that
requires personnel to acknowledge and agree to the business's
policy before logging on: The policy acknowledgement
and recognition statement can be in the forum of a "log-on
screen" that requires the user to enter his password
as confirmation.
D.
Technological
Issues Concerning
(1)
Encryption:
Encryption programs are used to encode email so that
only the intended recipient can decipher the code. The
higher degree of complexity of the encryption, the more
difficult it is to decode. This is know as having a
"longer key". Governments have attempted to place restrictions
on the level of encryption that can be used.
(2)
Email
and document deletion: One of the methods a company
or individual can protect itself is top have periodically
deletions of all accumulated data and emails. This would
be the equivalent of a cyber-shredder.
