The panel members, representing an Internet perspective, suggested that Article 10 should simply be deleted. The ILPF wishes to emphasize that, given the advent of global electronic networks and global accessibility to information, the rules developed for one kind of tort, primarily tangible products and product liability, should not be automatically extended to all torts. Torts involving intellectual property rights form yet another category of torts for which the all encompassing coverage of the Draft Convention is premature if not inappropriate. The ILPF joins those interests which urge deference to the World Intellectual Property Organization and other substantive experts on the exercise and protection of intellectual property rights across national boundaries. The Internet is a new medium of spectacular efficiency.
Web sites offer information accessible from literally anywhere on the globe.
Information can be exchanged, delivered, and distributed across national borders with little regard to geographic distance. Much has been written on the impact that such a medium might have upon traditional notions of sovereignty and rules for jurisdiction. This Draft Convention has provided the first concrete opportunity for an in depth and detailed examination of the implications of this new medium. The Hague Conference is to be commended for undertaking a thorough examination of these important and complex issues. The Internet Law and Policy Forum wishes to emphasize the importance of finding those areas of consensus while allowing an appropriate evolution of national laws and, indeed, our own understanding.