Categories
Process Servers in Dublin-Hague Convention Transnational Litigation

Enforcing US Court Judgments in Ireland-How to Enforce Non EU Judgments

As there is no agreement in place between the United States and Ireland for the automatic recognition and enforcement of Judgments obtained from a court in the US in Ireland, it will be necessary to rely on common law rules.

This can lead to difficulties of enforcement of judgments obtained outside Ireland..

us-court-judgments-in-ireland

In fact, there is no bilateral treaty or multilateral international convention in force between the United States of America and any other country on a reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments.

 

The Irish common law rules/principles are quite restrictive and enforcing non-EU judgments in Ireland can be problematic as a consequence.

 

Common law principles

 

The common law principles that the Irish Courts will rely on are

  1. The US judgment must be for a liquidated sum, that is a definite monetary value
  2. The US judgment must be final and conclusive
  3. The US judgment must be granted in a Court of competent jurisdiction.

 

Number 1 above is obvious-you either have a judgment for a definite sum or not.

 

Likewise with number 2-the legal proceedings must have come to an end with no opportunity to appeal the judgment and the judgment must have been achieved following the correct procedures in the state in the US which granted the Judgment.

non-eu-judgments-in-ireland

 Court of competent jurisdiction

Number 3 above can be the most problematic as a result of a case called Rainford v Newell Roberts [1962] IR 95 where a Judgment was obtained by Rainford in the UK and sought to enforce the judgment in Ireland. (This situation would not arise now as a result of both countries mutual recognition of judgments due to various EU law and international conventions but is illustrative of the common law principles involved in seeking to have the US judgment enforced here)

 

This problem centres primarily on the question of proper service of the proceedings on the Defendant, as accepted by Irish rules of private international law.

 

In Rainford v Newell-Roberts the defendant had not been in the UK when served with the legal proceedings and had therefore not submitted to the jurisdiction of the English Courts and as a consequence the Irish Courts did not allow enforcement of the Judgment.

 

Where the dispute or Judgment arises as a result of breach of contract and the contract provides that a foreign jurisdiction will have exclusive jurisdiction in the event of a dispute the Irish Courts would be very likely to stay any proceedings instituted in Ireland and recognise the exclusive jurisdiction clause in the contract.

non-eu-judgments-in-ireland1

Grounds on which Judgment will be refused

In addition to the above considerations and criteria the Irish Courts will refuse to grant Judgment in Ireland where

  1. The Judgment would violate Irish public policy
  2. The foreign judgment was obtained by fraud
  3. The foreign judgment is in breach of natural justice
  4. The foreign judgment cannot be reconciled with an earlier foreign judgment.

Flightlease (Irl) Ltd (In Vol Liq) & Cos Act [2012] IESC 12

This 2012 decision of the Supreme Court in Ireland is instructive and helpful.

In Flightlease (Irl) Ltd (In Vol Liq) & Cos Act [2012] IESC 12 the Supreme Court was invited to accept the appropriate basis upon which the common law in this jurisdiction should recognise an in personam order of a foreign court. Flightlease argued that the traditional test as set out in Dicey (and in particular Rule 36) represents the current law in this jurisdiction. Swissair contended that the courts in this jurisdiction should follow the lead of Canadian courts and adopt a ‘real and substantive connection’ test.

(Read the full decision in this case here)

According to Rule 36 of Dicey if a judgment debtor was, at the time the proceedings were instituted present in a foreign country or if the judgment debtor submitted to the jurisdiction of the courts of the foreign country the Irish courts would recognise and enforce a judgment of a court of that country. (Dicey, Morris & Collins on Conflicts of Laws 14th edition (“Dicey”))

 

“Rule 36. Subject to rules 37 to 39, a court of a foreign country outside the United Kingdom has jurisdiction to give a judgment in personam capable of enforcement or recognition in the following cases:

 

First case. If the judgment debtor was, at the time the proceedings were instituted, present in the foreign country.

 

Second case. If the judgment debtor was claimant, or counterclaimed in the proceedings in the foreign court.

 

Third case. If the judgment debtor, being a defendant in the foreign court, submitted to the jurisdiction of that court by voluntarily appearing in the proceedings.

 

Fourth case. If the judgment debtor being a defendant in the original court, had before the commencement of the proceedings agreed, in respect of the subject matter of the proceedings to submit to the jurisdiction of that court or of the courts of that country.”

 

The Supreme Court decided that to follow the lead of the Supreme Court in Canada would lead to the Supreme Court in Ireland exceeding it’s judicial function and that the correct position is as set out by Rule 36 in Dicey outlined above.

You can learn more about debt collection in Ireland for international clients or contact us directly through our contact page.

Categories
Road Traffic Offences

Drunk in Charge-Section 50 Road Traffic Act 1961

The two most common drink driving offences in Ireland are section 49 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 (commonly known as “drunken driving”) and  section 50 of the same act, commonly known as “drunk in charge”.

Drunk in charge-section 50

To be successfully prosecuted for the offence of being “drunk in charge” under Section 50 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961) it is necessary to prove

  1. The offence occurred in a public place
  2. That the accused person intended to drive or intended to attempt to drive the car
  3. That the accused person was in charge of the vehicle.

drunk-in-charge

There is a presumption in law that the accused person intended to drive or intended to attempt to drive the vehicle; it is up to the accused person to prove to the contrary.

Whether the accused person was attempting to drive in the eyes of the law will depend on the facts of each case but there is an important Supreme Court case, DPP v Byrne (2001, unreported) where the accused person was held to be in charge with intent to drive under section 50.

In this case the accused

  • Was in the driver’s seat
  • Was actually asleep
  • Was pulled in to the hard shoulder
  • The keys were in the ignition, turned two clicks.

As in the previous offense of “drunken driving” the Garda can only arrest you after he has “formed the opinion” that you are committing or about to commit an offense under section 50. The Garda does not have a general power of arrest.

It is worth noting that to prove a section 50 offence the Garda will not have to prove that you were driving, only that you were in charge of the vehicle and that you intended to drive the car or intended to attempt to drive.

drink-driving-ireland

The concentration of alcohol required to prove this offence is an excess of alcohol in the blood of 80 milligrammes of alcohol to 100 millilitres of blood. There are other tests in relation to testing breath (35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath) and urine (107 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath).

The sample must be taken within 3 hours of the alleged commission of the offence.

Lawful arrest under section 49 and 50, Road Traffic Act, 1961

It is important to note that the opinion of the Garda in order to arrest you lawfully must be a reasonable one and must be formed after ascertaining and considering the facts.

For the arrest to be lawful, there are 2 factors required:

1.       The driver must be informed why he is being arrested in plain language

2.      The driver must be informed that he is no longer at liberty.

Other important facts about drunk in charge

You cannot be given section 1(1) of the Probation Act, 1907. The penalties on conviction for section 50 are a fine of up to €5,000 and/or 6 months in prison.

Since October, 2011 the disqualification periods for “drink driving” offences has changed and will depend on whether you are an experienced driver or not and the level of alcohol you have in your system.

Contact a solicitor if you have been charged with either section 49 or 50 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 as these are serious offences which can have long term consequences in many aspects of your life including from an employment and insurance perspective.

Learn about other road traffic offences. If you need a solicitor in Dublin please use the contact form on this site.

Categories
Summons Server Dublin

How to Enforce UK Judgments in Ireland

If you have secured a judgment in the UK in respect of a debt but find that your debtor is now living in Ireland, how do you enforce your debt?

enforce-uk-judgments-in-ireland

Article 33 of the Brussels I regulation stipulates that any judgment obtained in a member state will be recognised in other member states without any special procedure required.

But how do you enforce your UK judgment in Ireland?

Order 42A of the Rules of the Superior Courts in Ireland provides the procedure which involves making an application to the Master of the High Court in the first instance.

(Solicitors Dublin would be happy to answer any of your questions arising from this article or to assist you with enforcing a UK judgment in Ireland)

This is an ex parte application (only one party required, there is no need to serve any papers on the debtor at this stage). Your application needs to be supported by an affidavit which shows

  1. Your UK judgment,
  2. If the judgment in the UK was obtained by default you will need to demonstrate that the debtor was properly served in the UK with the legal proceedings in the first place,
  3. Documents that show that the judgment obtained in the UK is enforceable and has been served,
  4. An Annex V certificate which will be provided by Court officials in the UK.

There are a number of other averments or statements which will need to be in your affidavit including an address in Ireland for the service of documents on the party making the application and the grounds on which the right to enforce the judgment is vested in the party making the application.

enforce-uk-judgments-in-ireland1

Declaration of enforceability

Provided your papers are in order and your application is successful then the Master of the High Court will declare your UK judgement enforceable immediately.

Once this declaration of enforceability is granted it affords the same power to the UK judgment as if it was a judgment made in the High Court in Ireland.

This declaration of enforceability then needs to be served on the debtor along with the Judgment and a Notice of Enforcement.

At this stage the debtor has a period of time within which to appeal the Master’s order which can range from 1 month to 2 months.

Only after this period has expired will the Execution Order in respect of your Judgment issue.

 

UK Judgment not recognised

A UK or EU judgment will not be recognised in Ireland in only a narrow range of circumstances with the most common situation being where the original proceedings were not correctly served on the debtor.

 

Should you need any assistance in Ireland with having your UK judgment recognised and enforced in Ireland we are happy to assist-please use the Contact Us form with your query.

Categories
Intellectual Property

Illegal Use of the Internet | Internet Law for Small Business

The huge growth in use of the internet in the last few years has thrown up many issues which should be of concern to website owners and in particular small business owners who market their business online.

There are a wide range of areas in which you can fall foul in your promotion of your business on the internet.

illegal-use-of-the-internet

The potential areas of concern for website owners are extensive and include

  • Direct marketing and email marketing
  • Electronic commerce
  • Defamation
  • Copyright infringement
  • Trade mark infringement
  • Domain name disputes
  • Selling online and European Communities directives and regulations
  • Child pornography
  • Liability of internet service providers
  • Employees use of the internet in the workplace
  • Data protection

Three of the most common and serious areas of potential legal difficulty for website owners, individuals and small businesses include

  • Criminal behaviour on the internet
  • Intellectual property rights infringement
  • Infringement of the privacy rights of individuals.

Some of the most common activities on the internet which are or may be illegal (depending on jurisdiction) include hacking, framing, deep linking, harvesting and infringement of trade mark through the use of meta tags.

illegal-use-of-the-internet1

Hacking

Hacking broadly breaking into another’s computer or websites to steal information or cause damage. Whilst it can be difficult to prosecute in Ireland the Criminal Damage Act, 1991 contains a number of provisions to combat hackers.

Sections 2(1), 2(2), 3, 4 and 5(1) criminalises

  • Damage to property with property including “data” and damage including erasing, corrupting and altering data;
  • Threat to damage property even if the attempt to damage is unsuccessful;
  • Possession of anything with the intent to use it to damage property;
  • Unauthorised access with the intent to access “any data”.

 

The Data Protection Acts criminalizes unauthorised access to personal data.

Unlawful use of a computer is criminalized by the section 9(1) of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001 and other illegal behaviour on the internet is covered by the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000 and the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000.

 

Harvesting

Harvesting is the activity of the collection of email addresses for spamming purposes and taking of information from databases of third parties without the latter’s consent.

Harvesting is criminalized by the Data Protection Acts 1998 and 2003 and possibly also by the Criminal Damage Act, 1991 and the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000.

Deep Linking

Deep linking to other websites can be unlawful in certain circumstances where those links infringe the rights of the owner of the website to which the link goes. (See Shetland Times Limited v Dr. Johnathan Willis [1997])

It is also possible that a simple link to another website which contains a registered trade mark term can be a breach of the intellectual property rights of the site to which you link. Playboy (www.playboy.com) in the United States won a case in relation to this activity when it discovered a pornographic site linking to it with it’s trade mark term.

Framing

Framing, which is the division of a website into “frames” where a website’s text is displayed next to linked third party material in the same window may be a breach of copyright law.

Meta tag trade mark infringement

Many cases in the United States have been taken successfully where a website owner sues a competitor for the use of a trade mark term as a meta tag in the competitors website, even though such meta tags may not be visible to surfers or visitors to the site.

Conclusion

Clearly there are many potential infringements in the area of internet law with remedies provided for in the statute books. It is an area where you would be well advised to assess your current engagement on the internet to ensure you or your business is not storing up problems for the future.

Categories
Debt Collection Ireland

Solicitors Fees for Debt Collection

Our solicitor’s fees for debt collection matters are set out below.

 

There are some cases where we would need to discuss the case with your first to advise you as to the probable professional fee and outlays to expect.

 

solicitors-fees

Debtor Demand Letters

Our demand letters, which demand payment within 7 days, are customized to your requirements. We provide three types of 7 day demand letter which we describe as

  • Soft
  • Medium
  • Hard

Our fee for sending debt collection letter is €50 which may have the desired effect; other fees will be discussed with you at your first consultation.

 

What type of letter you choose will depend on your relationship with your debtor, how long the money is outstanding and your personal preference-you may for example decide that the softer versions is more appropriate in the first instance if you have built up a relationship with the debtor over some years.

 

Correspondence fee

Our correspondence fee will arise when a debtor contacts us in relation to the demand letter with a query or perhaps looking for additional documentation, an invoice or other information.

 

When this happens we refer the issue to you in the first instance. If you wish us to deal with the debtor by way of correspondence and organising a payment plan, receipt of the payments, issuing receipts and forwarding the monies to you there will be a correspondence fee to cover this work which is not recoverable from the debtor in the absence of legal proceedings being issued.

 

Our minimum correspondence fee is €45.

 

solicitors-fees1

Legal Fees in Defended cases

In defended cases, that is where a Notice of Intention to Defend or an Appearance is entered and the debtor contests the case, our fees will include the Professional fees set out below plus our hourly charge out rate which we will notify you of prior to commencing work.

 

You will of course receive a section 68 letter setting out our fees and expected outlays or the basis on which we will charge or an estimate of our fees prior to commencing work. Each case will have it’s own particular character, level of expertise, skill and responsibility requirements and for this reason it is impossible to be absolutely definitive as to our fees in respect of defended cases.

 

Legal fees for enforcement of Judgments

To apply for an instalment order in the District Court for a Judgment already obtained or to bring committal proceedings our fee is €195 plus vat.

 

We can also

  • Register a Judgment mortgage and
  • Liaise with the Sheriff to have your judgment enforced.

Legal Fees in Undefended Cases

Our legal fees for obtaining judgment on your behalf in undefended cases in the various Courts are as follows:

DEBT AMOUNT

PROFESSIONAL FEES

ESTIMATED OUTLAYS

APPROXIMATE RECOVERABLE COSTS

€318 to €635

€150.00

€45.00

€43.23

€636 to €1,270

€195.00

€45.00

€69.34

€1,271 to €1,905

€230.00

€45.00

€94.33

€1,906 to €2,540

€295.00

€45.00

€108.16

€2,541 to €3,175

€315.00

€45.00

€133.15

€3,276 to €3,810

€330.00

€45.00

€147.95

€3,811 to €4,444

€375.00

€45.00

€176.57

€4,445 to €5,079

€425.00

€45.00

€191.94

€5,080 to €5,714

€465.00

€45.00

€220.00

€5,715 to €6,349

€525.00

€145.00

€222.00

€6,350 to €11,000

€650.00

€145.00

€222.00

€11,001 to €20,000

€990.00

€145.00

€222.00

€20,001 to €38,000

€1,350.00

€145.00

€222.00

€38,001 to upwards

€1,995.00

€295.00

€222.00

If you have any queries do not hesitate to contact us and you will find that we are approachable, responsive, professional and competitive.

Categories
Debt Collection Ireland

Debt Collection Ireland | Debt Collection Solicitors

If you have a debt collection problem and you cannot get in monies owed to you Solicitors Dublin offers a comprehensive and very cost effective debt collection service.

debt-collection-solicitors

Regardless of whether your debt needs to be pursued in the District Court, the Circuit Court or the High Court the first step in any debt collection procedure is to send a demand letter to the debtor.

Debt demand letters

There are some essential elements in a demand letter in a debt collection procedure. These include

  • Who owes the debt and what kind of legal entity are they, for example sole trader, limited company, partnership and so on;
  • To whom is the debt owed;
  • How much is owed;
  • Is there interest accruing on foot of a contract;
  • Who are you;
  • For what is the debt owed;
  • Payment should be demanded within a specified time period;
  • What will happen should the debt not be paid;
  • And that the recipient should see a solicitor or legal professional.

debt-collection-dublin

District Court debt collection

The District Court has jurisdiction to deal with debts up to €6,348.69. If the debt is not paid on foot of the demand letter then the next step is to issue and serve a Civil Summons.

A District Court Civil Summons must include

  • The District Court Area
  • The District Court Number
  • Details of the parties
  • The amount you are claiming
  • The Plaintiff’s claim
  • That the debt fell due in the last 6 years
  • The goods/services provided
  • That there was a demand made and full particulars of the debt were furnished
  • That the debtor failed to pay
  • And the interest and costs which is being claimed.

Notice of Intention to Defend

If a Notice of Intention to Defend is filed then a hearing date for the case will be given by the District Court on the 1st occasion it comes before the Court.

If no Notice of Intention to Defend is filed you will be able to lodge the appropriate papers in the District Court office and obtain a Judgment against the person who owes the money.

Learn more about the Civil Summons procedure..

debt-collection-ireland

Circuit Court Debt collection

The Circuit Court deals with debts of €6,349 to €38,092.14 and involves the Civil Bill procedure.

High Court Debt collection

The High Court has unlimited jurisdiction to deal with debts and the procedure is the High Court Summary Summons procedure and may involve the Master of the High Court and the High Court itself.

Debt collection generally

The procedure used in trying to collect a debt, from issuing your demand letter in the first instance all the way through to enforcement proceedings,  is critically important as a mistake in any step of the procedure can set you back critically or failing to recover anything.

For this reason you may wish to instruct debt collection solicitors to handle the matter for you.

Once you have obtained a Judgment in respect of your debt you will need to attempt to enforce your Judgment. Enforcement procedures can range from obtaining an Instalment Order in the District Court to registering a Judgment mortgage against property of your debtor.

Learn more about District Court enforcement procedures..

Categories
Process Servers in Dublin-Hague Convention

Process Serving in Ireland for Non EU Countries

Process serving in Ireland for litigants in non EU countries is provided for by the Hague Convention.

There are a number of procedures laid down but the safest and surest method to ensure effective service which will stand up to challenge is to instruct a solicitor in Ireland to act on your behalf.

process-serving-ireland

Whilst the cost of doing so may be off putting in the first instance it will, to your client, look like money very well spent if you avoid a challenge to your service when you go to your local Court seeking a Judgment or Court Order.

Service of process for non EU countries

The service of foreign process in Ireland for documents originating in non-EU countries must be carried out under the procedure laid down in the Hague Convention of 1965 which dealt with the service of judicial and extrajudicial documents in Civil or Criminal matters abroad.

Please note this Hague Convention only applies to signatories of the Hague convention and non EU countries; service between EU countries is covered by the Brussels I regulation, the Brussels convention or the Lugano convention.

So the procedure discussed here would apply if you were an American or Australian company or bank for example seeking to have documents served in Ireland on an Irish defendant.

The Hague convention rules which cover this area were given effect in the Rules of the Superior Courts in Ireland under statutory instrument 101/1994.

These rules deem the Master of the High Court to be the Central Authority in Ireland.

The procedure involves you as a judicial officer in, say, the United States filling out a form which is annexed to the Hague Convention which is called a Request form.

process-serving-dublin

You can access the request form here and learn more about the Hague Convention service section here.

(Do note that if the request is not a Hague convention request and is not in English then the request and documents will have to be translated into one of the two official languages of the Irish State-English or Irish-and two copies of all documents will have to be provided)

The Hague Convention  form is in fact in 3 parts-Request, Certificate and Summary.

If the request is a Hague Convention request from a Convention country then the Request form is left in with the Central Office of the High Court and if the Central Authority is satisfied that the Request is in conformance with the Hague Convention then the Central Authority generally directs service in the manner requested by the applicant unless this method is incompatible with the laws of Ireland or is not in compliance with the practice and procedure of the High Court.

If the Central Authority is not satisfied with the Request it can set out it’s objections to allow the applicant rectify the matter.

If there is no specific method of service requested by the applicant the Central Authority will direct personal service on the Defendant. If this is the case the Central Authority may direct service by the Chief Solicitor’s office.

Service is then carried out by delivery and leaving with the Defendant one copy of the documents to be served and any translation if appropriate.

Once service is then effected by the process server he/she returns to the Central Authority with one copy of the process and an Affidavit setting out how service was carried out.

This affidavit sets out how service was effected.

(The Central Authority may stipulated a time period within which service was to be effected)

If and when the Central Authority is satisfied with service it will issue a certificate to this effect which will be your proof of service under the procedure laid down in the Hague Convention-this Certificate is part 2 of the Request form which you can access above.

Process servers in Ireland

We provide process serving services for a growing number of international clients.

Our membership of the Law Society of Ireland, understanding of the laws applicable in Ireland and the Rules of the Superior Courts, ensures that our clients receive a professional service from start to finish.

Please use the Contact page to request a quotation or email Terry Gorry Solicitor directly at terry@businessandlegal.ie (Terry Gorry Solicitor)

Avoid This Common and Costly Mistake When Looking for a Process Server in Ireland

Categories
Family Law

Choosing a Family Law Solicitor in Dublin

Family law is different from other areas of law.

Most areas of law are concerned with what happened in the past and Courts are left with the task of making judgments in relation to what has already occurred.

family-law-solicitor-dublin

However family law places an onerous obligation on family law Judges and Courts and family law solicitors to make decisions based on current and future behaviour of the parties and the responsibilities and needs of the parties concerned including children of the parties. Family law solicitors need therefore to advise their clients and be mindful of not just the legal remedies open to their client but also to non legal solutions such as

  • mediation
  • negotiated agreement between the parties through their solicitors and
  • reconciliation.

In fact family law solicitors have a legal duty to advise their clients of non legal solutions to their difficulties in the first instance rather than initiating legal proceedings immediately.

Negotiated agreements, such as separation agreements, may be appropriate in many situations and will generally be a cheaper alternative to issuing legal proceedings and attempting to resolve difficulties through the Courts.

family-law-solicitors-dublin

Agreements between the parties can also be drawn up in respect of

  • maintenance
  • access
  • custody
  • guardianship

and if agreement is reached the agreement can be ruled by the family law Court, that is to say, the Court will make a Court Order in terms of the agreement reached between the parties.

The Family Mediation service, which is a free service for separating couples, should also be used to attempt in the provision of free mediation services by trained counselors/mediators.

Family law client care

A good family law solicitor will ensure to

  • keep you informed throughout the process
  • speak to you in a language you understand with the minimum of legal jargon and an awareness that your family law problem may well be your first encounter with the legal system in Ireland
  • support you on the day that your case comes before family law Court
  • explain in easy to understand language what has occurred and the implications of whatever Court Order has been made.

Good family law solicitors recognise that family law problems can cause a huge degree of stress and upset for people and should be aware of this at all times.

It is important to recognise that good family law solicitors will be supportive and helpful to you on a personal level but they are also legal professionals who have a professional obligation to you as client and in their dealings with colleagues acting for the other party and will advise you as to what is possible and impossible in your particular case.

Children in family law cases

Children should be a prime consideration in family law cases and the best interests of the child(ren) should always be paramount in family law disputes.

As stated at the outset, family law is different because unlike, say litigation or criminal law or business law, it is not a “winner takes all attitude” that will provide the best outcome for all parties concerned. (If you need assistance with any of the issues raised in this article don’t hesitate to contact Solicitors Dublin through our Contact Us page)

Categories
Intellectual Property

Domain Names Law | Domain Name Disputes

Domain names, which are intellectual property just like trade marks and other forms of intellectual property, have seen an increase in disputes in the last few years.

domain-names-law

 

Terms like ccTLD (country code top level domain such as .ie, .co.uk and .fr) and gTLD(generic top level domain such as .com, .net and .org) can be confusing to the small business owner who simply wants to get his business up on the internet and market his/her business to the world via the internet.

Hopefully what follows will help clear up some of the confusion as to what to watch out for in the whole area of domain name registration, domain name disputes and the value of doing a domain name search prior to registration.

 

However domain name disputes are becoming an increasing problem for business with the proliferation of website, eCommerce and new businesses going online and trading on the internet.

 

And infringements occur regularly in the shape of trade mark disputes, cybersquatting and related issues.domain-name-law

 

It is crucial for any business to have a smart commercial strategy regarding their trade marks and domain names.

 

Domain names can usually be registered quickly and inexpensively. Top Level Domain(TLD) is the suffix such as ie or uk or fr-it denotes the country.

 

 

Within TLDs there are 2 sub-categories

 

1. Generic TLDs (gTLD) such as .com,.net,.org,.biz. These domain names do not have to be distinctive and do not indicate geographic origin.

 

2. Country Code TLDs (ccTLD) which are administered by the domain registry of the relevant country; in Ireland this is IE Domain Registry ltd (www.iedr.ie).

 

In Ireland you must display a real and substantive connection with Ireland when applying for a domain name before iedr will approve your application. You may also need to show a connection with the business that you are referring to in your domain name application.(Check out IEDR.ie)

 

Domain name disputes

 

Domain name disputes have been resolved generally in one of 2 ways-either in court or by reference to the alternative dispute resolution procedure provided by ICANN.

 

This body has adopted the UDRP (Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy) which apples to generic TLD name disputes.

 

Some country code administrators have incorporated this procedure into their registration agreements.

 

This UDRP procedure has been very successful and has resolved many domain name disputes; however it does not provide for damages and so a company that needs immediate injunctive relief and damages will be advised to head for court rather than the UDRP procedure.

 

Generally the relief provided is simply to have the domain name transferred to the plaintiff.

 

To win relief at the UDRP you will need to show 3 things

 

1. the complainant must show that the name is confusingly similar to the name in which the complainant has rights

2. the existing holder has no legitimate interest or rights in the domain name

3. the complainant must show bad faith on the part of the holder of the domain name.

 

The holder of the domain name can reject the complainant’s case if he could show bona fide use of the name, non commercial use with no intention to profit, evidence that the respondent is known by the domain name.

 

UDRP also recognise the phenomenon of ‘Reverse Domain Name Hijacking’ which is the occasion when the plaintiff uses the policy in bad faith in an attempt to deprive a registered holder of a domain name of that name.

 

In ccTLD disputes the domain name registry require further proofs before they cancel or transfer a domain name.

 

They would need to see some aspect of passing off or trade mark infringement also.

domain-name-disputes

These disputes can be litigated before the appropriate courts as occurred in Jan. 2009 when Sean Dunne, Property Developer went to court in a dispute to obtain D4Hotels.com from John Brennan who had registered the domain name in his own name whilst running D4 hotels group in Ballsbridge.

 

The IEDR introduced a dispute resolution procedure in 2003 in respect of .ie disputes which you can learn more about on their website.

Conclusion

It is clearly impossible to register all domain names and trade marks which they may feel they need to protect their intellectual property.

 

Sometimes it is more cost effective to purchase the name from the ‘offender’ rather than go to court or UDRP.

 

It is important to recognise the difference between trade marks and domain names and it is prudent for a company to register each of their domain names as a trade mark.

 

Because otherwise their domain name could be registered as a trade mark by a 3rd party.

Categories
Solicitors Fees

Solicitors Fees and Occasions When It is Money Well Spent

Many people have correctly criticized the level of solicitors fees in Dublin..stories of exorbitant legal bills and fees fill the airwaves from time to time with animated discussions on RTE radio and TV.

The new legal services bill introduced by Minister for Justice Alan Shatter seeks to address some of these criticisms.

The video below however will demonstrate the dangers of not instructing a solicitor, even for what appears to be a minor matter, though and will show you why instructing a solicitor can have huge long term benefits for you and your career, travel prospects and so on.