Settles major software counterfeiting dispute

Even more pressing concerns are phony pharmaceuticals. These drugs can be deliberately mislabeled with respect to their contents or their source, and the dangers presented are immediately apparent. Despite the paucity of direct links, it's widely accepted that pharmaceutical counterfeiting is increasing and that there are more ways now than ever to procure drugs from unlicensed sources.

The World Health Organization estimates that between 1 percent and 10 percent of drugs sold around the world are counterfeits, and as many as 50 percent in some countries. Imagine that in the midst of the recent swine flu outbreak, that half of the doses of antiviral medication might not be the real thing -- and you begin to realize the chilling impact of the problem. Some fake medications may contain toxic or poisonous chemicals, the result of which can be tragic.

In , a 57 year old resident of British Columbia was slowly poisoned to death by tainted pills purchased from an online pharmacy. The sedatives -- antidepressants and acetaminophen -- were found to contain dangerously high levels of toxic metals used as fillers, including uranium, lead, titanium, tin, and even arsenic.

Internet facilitates sale of bogus goods Counterfeiting could not promulgate in its current form without a medium, which increasingly is the Internet. The web provides ideal conditions for counterfeit commerce, as sellers, and sometimes buyers, do not want attention drawn to their businesses.

It is difficult -- and often impossible -- to police commerce conducted online. Perpetrators can be located anywhere in the world, creating obvious jurisdictional issues around regulation and prosecution, even if they can be found. Results across various jurisdictions have been mixed. In an earlier case, courts in France ruled in favor of fashion giant LVMH which owns such brands as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Tag Heuer and Fendi when it sued eBay for negligence regarding the sale of counterfeit goods on its popular auction site.

By contrast, a similar suit launched in the U. The standard is not whether eBay could reasonably anticipate possible infringement, but rather whether eBay continued to supply its services to sellers when it had reason to know of infringement by those sellers.

The law does not impose liability for contributory trademark infringement on eBay for its refusal to take such pre-emptive steps. An Internet adjudication process Civil remedies available under trademark and copyright law both in the U. Online counterfeiters are especially difficult to sue as they frequently operate in the shadows or in jurisdictions with weak enforcement standards. Further, civil remedies are typically only pursued by large companies as they are often prohibitively expensive.

A more promising solution may be an Internet-based adjudication process similar to international and national domain name dispute resolution procedures. Facebook paying millions to settle federal suit alleging discrimination against US workers.

Published: Oct. Share on Facebook. Email This Link. Share on Twitter. Share on Pinterest. Share on LinkedIn. Most Read. Canada electric school bus maker to locate in West Virginia. Latest News. Founder of Oath Keepers, 10 others charged with seditious conspiracy in Jan. Replay Video. Load Error. Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article. Found the story interesting? Like us on Facebook to see similar stories.

I'm already a fan, don't show this again.