Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act

The Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) is a US law enacted on 29 November 1999. It amended the Lanham Act - the centrepiece of US trade mark legislation - and forms section 43d. The ACPA may - in certain circumstances - be applied to your case by the US courts, even if you're not located within the US.

Official resources

Lanham (Trademark) Act - A hypertext version of the Act from Bitlaw. See sections 1125 and 1129.

USPTO Report to Congress on the ACPA - A view from the US authorities on the merits and demerits of the ACPA in practice.

Introductory resources

Wikipedia on the ACPA - A short Wikipedia "stub" on the subject.

Chilling Effects FAQ on the ACPA - This FAQ was written by Jared Kramer.

Keytlaw FAQ on the ACPA - Arizona attorney Richard Keyt's overview of the ACPA, in the form of an FAQ.

Critique and analysis

Trademarks and the Internet: the Resolution of International IP Disputes by the Unilateral Application of US Laws - Analysis of the jurisdictional issues arising out of the ACPA by Richard Garnett. This was published in the Brooklyn Journal of International Law in 2005.

Due Process and In Rem Jurisdiction under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act - An August 2001 article by Andrew Grotto from the Columbia Science and Technology Law Review.

Cybersquatter Litigation Boom - A February 2001 note on US ACPA litigation in the years following the coming into effect of ACPA, by Darryl van Duch.

AntiCybersquatting Consumer Protection Act: A Powerful Remedy In Domain Name Disputes? Or a Threat to Electronic Commerce? - An August 2000 article by Serena Hunn of Ford Marrin Esposito Witmeyer and Gleser, LLP.

US Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act and its Canadian implications - An interesting article by Vishva Ramlall. His analysis has implications which reach beyond North America.

Realspace Sovereigns in Cyberspace: Problems with the ACPA - A 54 page article from Catherine Struve and R Wagner of the University of Pennsylvania, published in the Berkeley Technology Law Journal.