Legal Responses to IPR Infringement in Internet Sphere

Abstract

The emergence of the Internet has changed the ways in which we create, distribute, access, and use information. The Internet provides manifold opportunities for users, operators, businesses, and the public at large for speedy, cheap, and global dissemination of information, knowledge, research, and entertainment. At the same time, it also poses complex conceptual and empirical challenges for intellectual property and related rights. Works of intellectual property can be digitized and transferred over the Internet. Many trademarks have been placed on it by the companies for advertising and marketing goods and services. In the field of copyright, a number of works of literature, film and art, and notably computer programs, have been transferred over the Internet. The patent system has also migrated onto the Internet. It is now popular for companies to patent their online business methods. In the Internet Sphere, the infringer can easily misdirect consumers to its website by using another’s trademark as a meta-tag, and it is also easy to copy and distribute other’s copyright materials unlawfully. Due to global nature of the Internet, an Internet IP infringement usually happens not only within one country but also across borders. All of these have raised many difficulties for the protection of IPRs in Internet sphere. Therefore everyone has been dubious of what the actual laws concerning Intellectual Property rights are in relation to Internet sphere. Today the Internet explosion has made the question of how to enforce IP law on a global scale as an imperative issue. In this Article, the author tries to accentuate the existing as well as changing IPR challenges brought about by the Internet and project what issues a national legislature should consider to meet the demands of the digital revolution. The core object of this study is to scrutinize the compelling factors behind the Intellectual Property Rights Infringements through the Internet and investigate the existing Legal Responses in International, Regional and Local levels. However, the findings demonstrate that mass-awareness, consensus and mutual co-operation among the developed and developing countries, proper enforcement of the existing laws as well as bringing amendments to some areas of Law can be cited as a potential solution.