Legal

IdAuthority has been developed to translate the physical world IPR to the online world. IPR have existing for decades in the physical world protecting such rights as trademarks, brand names, company names, product names, etc. You may not even realise it, but we all rely on and use IPR every day of our lives. Every time we look in the yellow pages, or see an advert on television we are being exposed to an infrastructure that is protected by IPR.

Yet in the online world such IPR is not respected, and rarely enforced. Opportunists and cybersquatters have passed off domain names containing branding and company names for many years. Clearly, a naming system that allows anyone to infringe the IPR of another entity is seriously flawed.

The IdAuthority translates the IPR long established in the physical world. Any entry to the Trusted Name System is validated and assurances are made that the applying party has the legal right to use such a name. For example, the use of a trademark or brand name through the TNS is only permitted once the trademark or brand name claim has been validated against the global TM databases. Likewise, a company name is specific to a country, and will not be included in the TNS until the company registration details are fully vetted. Such practices may be seen in operation in the TrustToolbar application and enables easy web navigation using the TNS.

Such assurances are also provided for identity assurance. In order to qualify for an ID Certificate the applicant is validated, and their company registration details vetted by expert validation staff. Unlike existing Certification Authorities, who provide a zero level of identity assurance, the IdAuthority backs its assurances by providing insurance for it's identity assurance claims.

Notes on EU Directive 2000/31/EC: The European Directive 2000/31/EC on Electronic Commerce states:

"...establish a coherent legal framework for the development of e-commerce within the single European market by ensuring that information service providers benefit from the principles of the free movement of services and freedom of establishment."

Every company that has a commercial web presence, whether it be to conduct e-commerce or just to showcase products and services, is an 'information services provider'. The directive states that every information services provider must ensure that:

"...certain information to be made available in a "direct and permanent manner" to services recipient..." (the customer / website visitor)

IdAuthority enables websites to comply to this directive:

Name, particulars, address (incl e-mail address) & VAT number of service provider: When you register, this information is digitally signed within your digital certificate. Website visitors have direct and permanent access to this information through the IdAuthority.

Details of prices and other essential terms and conditions: The URLs of your terms and conditions and privacy policy are also provided when you register. Website visitors may then, with a single click, use TrustToolbar to open the relevant page on your website, thus providing a standardised, direct and permanent means of viewing such 'essential terms'

Details of trade register and registration of service provider and if service provider is member of a regulated profession: VEngine, the verification engine is available to communicate this information to website visitors through its digital certificate based visual verification system.

Adherence to physical world legal frameworks

  • Naming
  • Trademarks
  • Company registrations
  • Identity assurance backed by insurance