Private Data: Fundamental Right or Asset?

Personal Data are getting much more importance in present business world. Every company look on reaching targeted customers. To do so, they need personal data. Age, occupation, mobile number, income and social status are important information upon which the target can be reached. These data are assets for a commercial organization. At the same time privacy is a fundamental right. You might have received number of blind calls from telemarketers if you have not registered National Do Not Disturb registry (See whether your mobile is registered for So Not Disturb read my previous article) This registry has been established to protect your privacy and keep you away from disturbing marketing calls.

In Europe privacy is fundamental right. UK has separate legislation for data protection under Data Protection Act 1998. This legistlation protects data from being misused, unauthorized use, unfair processing of data and collecting personal data by unlawful means. This protects the database market, more than that it protects privacy of the customer.

But in USA, Private data is treated as a commodity. They have future value. You can fill some discount forms to get discount by selling your personal data in some hyper malls. Then you start receiving SMS alerts on new offers! The data can be used for commercial activity. Safe Harbour Principles of USA protects personal data. Consumer has all the right to protect his data, he has the right to restrict the use and disclosure of the personal information. It prevents using data for the purpose other than specified. This means, if you have posted your resume in some job site, you won't get call from Sharekhan to market their online trading account.

Both the theories are right in their arguments. Many companies are now respecting your personal data. Some sites take your personal details up to your bank account. TRUSTe and Safe Harbour logos could be visible on these sites. There are some websites which asks your email address and fill your inbox with spam mails. What you think? Is your personal information is your fundamental right or goods that can be sold?

Airtel.com, Airtel.in and Domain squatting

Before going in detail I have to tell you what is domain squatting. Domain squatting is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. Now the question is whether the following case a domain squatting?
Let us analyse the situation. Click on Airtel.in. You will be taken to India's popular cellular service provider Airtel. Airtel is largest cellular service provider of India with more than 79 million subscribers as of November 2008. Now click on Airtel.com. You will be navigated to Vodafone Spain site. It may be a Spanish, where Airtel has no service, it still is the competitor’s website. Airtel has tough compitition with Vodafone in India. Whoever types Airtel.com and looks for Airtel detail he will be taken to Vodafone's website. Vodafone gets free traffic from Airtel.
What could be legal action? Before tell it I should also inform how I can write about this. I am a student of Post Graduation Diploma in IPR Laws in National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Now come to the case. By the definition of Domain squatting or Cyber squatting, if domain name Airtel.com is registered with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else that is well established Airtel, then Vodafone could be asked to transfer the domain name according to the WIPO Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. WIPO takes care of transfer of domain names to the true trademark owner.
But this case is quite different. Look at this information:

Domain name: AIRTEL.COM
Host IP 212.73.32.153
Created on: 1998-12-15
Updated on: 2008-09-29
Expires on: 2009-12-14
Registrant Name: AIRTEL MOVIL, S.A.
Contact: AIRTEL MOVIL, S.A.
Technical Contact Address: Psg. Lluis Companys, 23
Technical Contact City: Barcelona
Technical Contact Postal Code: 08010
Technical Contact Country: ES
Contact Phone: +34 935074360
Contact Fax: +34 933102360

The domain name is registered very long back in 1998, when cellular service called Airtel was there in Spain. But later it is acquired by Vodafone and they took the advantage and started redirecting the traffic from Airtel.com to their Spanish site. So Airtel-India can not do anything on this issue. But the domain name Airtel.com will get expired on 14 Dec 2009. Hope Vodafone will not re-registeres the domain name and continue to use it.
What happens if Vodafone re-registeres Airtel.com even though now it does not own trademark Airtel? I have to ask our lecturer, IPR expert, advocate J Suresh to answer this question. If you know the answer you are free to write a comment.