Certification Marks

Book excerpt: Certification of web sites plays an important role in Internet security. A certification mark is a guarantee that goods or services, in connection with which the mark is used, comply with certain standards. Certification marks are classed as a special category of trade mark. While they have existed under US and UK law, and the laws of many European and other countries, for almost 100 years, there is currently no publication focusing specifically on the subject. Certification Marks discusses the current state of law in this area, placing it in an historical and commercial context. Particular effort is made to examine several unresolved issues which look set to play important roles in the future, especially EU certification and harmonisation and electronic certification.