The fair use defense for using a third party's trademark From physical reality to registration as a domain name

Abstract

The use of third parties' trademark without their consent constitutes one of the most important forms of trademark infringement prohibited by the legislator in the laws of trademarks. The legislator's aim is to achieve two primary objectives. The first is to protect the right of the mark's owner to exploit the good will of the mark. The second objective is to protect the consumer from misleading the source of products and services. This protection is not limited to the forms on the imitation of the trademark or the use of counterfeit brand, but extends to prevent others from registering a domain name identical or confusingly similar to that mark. Whoever, this prohibition does not prevent third parties from using the trademark, or registering it as a domain name, with good faith for descriptive purposes if the mark contains a term that has a dictionary meaning that can be used for descriptive purpose. In practice, the use of the mark by third parties to refer to products or services bearing the mark has been justified in order to market such products or services in the physical world, and on the Internet.

What are the circumstances that justify the use of the trademark, or its registration as a domain name by third parties? What are the legal effects of such use?