A landmark British test case has opened the gates for brand owners to compel internet service providers (ISPs) to police trademark infringement at scale, in addition to their already controversial role in copyright enforcement.
The case was brought by luxury brands in the Richemont/Cartier group, demanding that the UK’s five major ISPs – BSkyB, BT, EE, TalkTalk, and VirginMedia – block six websites sporting fake versions of their brands and selling counterfeit goods. UK: High Court Rules ISPs Must Help Block Sites Selling Counterfeit Goods [theguardian.com]
The case, decided in the High Court of England & Wales on Friday by Justice Richard Arnold, extends the remedy of ‘blocking injunctions’ - a favoured weapon of copyright enforcers - to trademarks for the first time.
The directive provides for injunctions “against intermediaries whose services are used by a third party to infringe an intellectual property right”. It also provides that such measures must be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive”.
