Apologies to all the followers- for the long absence-i am officially back online!!
Things seem to be going much smoother now, finished my first semester @ the Law School, now undergoing the second semester - the field attachment - for 4months..pheeeeww!
Miss MK
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Adwords Policy NO TradeMarks infringement?
Advocate General considers that Google’s AdWords policy has not infringed trade marks
source: law-now.com
Advocate General Poiares Maduro issued his long-awaited opinion on 22 September 2009 in relation to the link between sponsored search engine keywords and trade mark infringement. He decided in favour of Google’s controversial AdWords system, which permits advertisers to purchase competitors’ trade marks as keywords in order to trigger sponsored links in search results.
The Advocate General’s Opinion is aimed at ensuring, (in his own words), “that the legitimate purposes of preventing certain trade mark infringements do not lead to the prohibition of all trade mark use in the context of cyberspace”.
The key findings are as follows:
1. The offer and selection of keywords which result in a link being displayed does not of itself constitute an act of trade mark infringement.
2. The Trade Mark Directive does not enable the proprietors to prevent registration or use of keywords in generating links (although the actual advertisements displayed could do).
3. It makes no difference if a mark is a mark with a reputation – the extended form of protection is not of assistance.
4. The provider of a paid keyword service cannot be considered to be an information society service in the context of the E-Commerce Directive.
Importantly, the Opinion does not consider whether the text of the advertisements displayed from keywords could amount to trade mark infringement, only the process of registering such keywords and causing such advertisements to be displayed from search enquiries.
The Advocate General also considered a more general concept, as to whether Google might be liable for some form of contributory infringement because the subsequent use of keywords could result in infringement. The Advocate General was clear that the act of contributing to infringement by a third party, whether actual or potential, would not be an infringement in itself.
source: law-now.com
Advocate General Poiares Maduro issued his long-awaited opinion on 22 September 2009 in relation to the link between sponsored search engine keywords and trade mark infringement. He decided in favour of Google’s controversial AdWords system, which permits advertisers to purchase competitors’ trade marks as keywords in order to trigger sponsored links in search results.
The Advocate General’s Opinion is aimed at ensuring, (in his own words), “that the legitimate purposes of preventing certain trade mark infringements do not lead to the prohibition of all trade mark use in the context of cyberspace”.
The key findings are as follows:
1. The offer and selection of keywords which result in a link being displayed does not of itself constitute an act of trade mark infringement.
2. The Trade Mark Directive does not enable the proprietors to prevent registration or use of keywords in generating links (although the actual advertisements displayed could do).
3. It makes no difference if a mark is a mark with a reputation – the extended form of protection is not of assistance.
4. The provider of a paid keyword service cannot be considered to be an information society service in the context of the E-Commerce Directive.
Importantly, the Opinion does not consider whether the text of the advertisements displayed from keywords could amount to trade mark infringement, only the process of registering such keywords and causing such advertisements to be displayed from search enquiries.
The Advocate General also considered a more general concept, as to whether Google might be liable for some form of contributory infringement because the subsequent use of keywords could result in infringement. The Advocate General was clear that the act of contributing to infringement by a third party, whether actual or potential, would not be an infringement in itself.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Newsfeed
fibre cable-based communications infrastructure.
East Africa is on the eve on a communications revolution, which will be brought about by the landing of the region’s first undersea cables to the outside world in 2009. Governments and corporate users in the region need to prepare for the transition from a predominantly satellite-based communications infrastructure to a fibre cable-based communications infrastructure.
east african outsourcing and contacting center
With the landing of two undersea cables in East Africa in 2009, the region will have the international broadband capacity at competitive prices to enter the world outsourcing market as a serious player. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda each have developed national BPO, KPO and/or ITO strategies and are at different stages of implementing them.
EAC-CyberSecurity
the EAC countries are in different stages in formulating the relevant laws to ensure cybersecurity, east african internet governance forum -how to reap the benefits in a secure and non-compromised environment and the that confidentiality and privacy laws must be implemented to ensure this,
so far the laws are inadequate to resolve emerging opportunites and challenges posed by the internet - looking at the Ugandan and Kenyan legal frameworks that are in place so far,
most recently the need of cybersecurity is in need due to the increase of cyber crimes - in Tanzania, the TRA Systems in place have proven to be a haven for fraudsters to steal profits - such loopholes in the systems need to be governed and regulated in order to avoid such losses by the government-
source: the east african -sept 21/the citizen
so far the laws are inadequate to resolve emerging opportunites and challenges posed by the internet - looking at the Ugandan and Kenyan legal frameworks that are in place so far,
most recently the need of cybersecurity is in need due to the increase of cyber crimes - in Tanzania, the TRA Systems in place have proven to be a haven for fraudsters to steal profits - such loopholes in the systems need to be governed and regulated in order to avoid such losses by the government-
source: the east african -sept 21/the citizen
Friday, August 28, 2009
IT Services & OutSourcing Contracts
Because the cost of having an internal IT department can be too expensive, a company cuts costs by asking an outside company who specializes in IT function to provide the same kinds of services. However, it often goes beyond costs and includes strategic considerations as well.
Once the decision to outsource an activity has been made, managers are faced with issues related to the management of the relationship with their service providers. A critical element of relationship management is the contract itself, which defines, more or less completely, the nature of the services to be rendered and of the relationship itself.
AVAILABLE AT: http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/08/28/237476/bp-the-challenges-of-strategic-multi-sourcing.htm
BP: the challenges of strategic multi-sourcing
BP has reduced the number of IT suppliers it works with from 40 to five in a bid to lower costs and simplify its supplier relationship management.
It expects to make savings of around $500m over five years through the supplier consolidation, which will see Accenture, IBM, Wipro, TCS and Infosys take over application development and maintenance, service desk and SAP across the BP group.
Frank Ridder, research director at Gartner, says that many companies are now changing their supplier relationship strategy to consolidate suppliers in a bid to reduce costs. "Multi-sourcing is about finding the best strategic fit. Consolidating suppliers reduces the expense of procurement and vendor management."
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BP will use Accenture to manage and develop its SAP system, IBM will support its service desk, while the Indian providers will support and develop applications for business units in the BP oil and gas supply chain.
"A company like BP is too big to allow it to consolidate everything. Instead it has used a mix of traditional outsourcers and services from Indian outsourcers, separating the contracts by business unit." Ridder says this makes sense for BP, because each business unit is very distinct, so the structure of the company makes it simpler to split the work.
Companies are using strategic multi-sourcing through supplier consolidation to cut costs, but making a success of strategic multi-sourcing agreements is notoriously difficult, Ridding warns. In fact, many businesses fail to succeed with contracts involving multiple suppliers. A recent Gartner benchmark study found that 55% of global organisations manage their sourcing activities tactically and at an operational level, failing to add a strategic management layer and invest enough in developing critical multi-sourcing competencies.
Lee Ayling, managing director of Equaterra, says multi-sourcing contracts make sense in terms of risk, control and internal management overhead. It also maintains competition. However, BP may struggle to complete its supplier consolidation strategy. "I doubt that they will remove all the other suppliers as numerous issues will be identified in transition by the strategic suppliers, and BP may find that this erodes benefits," he says
BP is not the only company taking this route.
Last April Shell signed three IT outsourcing deals with EDS, AT&T and T-Systems. In this contract EDS is effectively a prime contractor, providing end-user computing services and integrate Shell's infrastructure services AT&T provides network and telecommunications and T-Systems supports datacentre computing including hosting, storage and most of Shell's SAP services. However, Shell retains overall control of the other suppliers and its IT strategy.
Businesses like BP and Shell are attempting to cut out costs from their companies by simplifying supplier relationships. Strategic partnerships with a few key suppliers is clearly better than managing several, but to succeed in strategic multi-sourcing, governance becomes critical.
Once the decision to outsource an activity has been made, managers are faced with issues related to the management of the relationship with their service providers. A critical element of relationship management is the contract itself, which defines, more or less completely, the nature of the services to be rendered and of the relationship itself.
AVAILABLE AT: http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2009/08/28/237476/bp-the-challenges-of-strategic-multi-sourcing.htm
BP: the challenges of strategic multi-sourcing
BP has reduced the number of IT suppliers it works with from 40 to five in a bid to lower costs and simplify its supplier relationship management.
It expects to make savings of around $500m over five years through the supplier consolidation, which will see Accenture, IBM, Wipro, TCS and Infosys take over application development and maintenance, service desk and SAP across the BP group.
Frank Ridder, research director at Gartner, says that many companies are now changing their supplier relationship strategy to consolidate suppliers in a bid to reduce costs. "Multi-sourcing is about finding the best strategic fit. Consolidating suppliers reduces the expense of procurement and vendor management."
ADVERTISEMENT
BP will use Accenture to manage and develop its SAP system, IBM will support its service desk, while the Indian providers will support and develop applications for business units in the BP oil and gas supply chain.
"A company like BP is too big to allow it to consolidate everything. Instead it has used a mix of traditional outsourcers and services from Indian outsourcers, separating the contracts by business unit." Ridder says this makes sense for BP, because each business unit is very distinct, so the structure of the company makes it simpler to split the work.
Companies are using strategic multi-sourcing through supplier consolidation to cut costs, but making a success of strategic multi-sourcing agreements is notoriously difficult, Ridding warns. In fact, many businesses fail to succeed with contracts involving multiple suppliers. A recent Gartner benchmark study found that 55% of global organisations manage their sourcing activities tactically and at an operational level, failing to add a strategic management layer and invest enough in developing critical multi-sourcing competencies.
Lee Ayling, managing director of Equaterra, says multi-sourcing contracts make sense in terms of risk, control and internal management overhead. It also maintains competition. However, BP may struggle to complete its supplier consolidation strategy. "I doubt that they will remove all the other suppliers as numerous issues will be identified in transition by the strategic suppliers, and BP may find that this erodes benefits," he says
BP is not the only company taking this route.
Last April Shell signed three IT outsourcing deals with EDS, AT&T and T-Systems. In this contract EDS is effectively a prime contractor, providing end-user computing services and integrate Shell's infrastructure services AT&T provides network and telecommunications and T-Systems supports datacentre computing including hosting, storage and most of Shell's SAP services. However, Shell retains overall control of the other suppliers and its IT strategy.
Businesses like BP and Shell are attempting to cut out costs from their companies by simplifying supplier relationships. Strategic partnerships with a few key suppliers is clearly better than managing several, but to succeed in strategic multi-sourcing, governance becomes critical.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
legislating adult content
Read article at: http://www.infoworld.com/t/regulation/kenya-tanzania-eye-legislation-adult-content-272
piracy of data
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