Tag Archives: legal

Fri 20th December 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
WIPO pats itself on a behind for Legal Rights Objections - Even if it didn’t mean to, WIPO should pat itself on the back for its handling of Legal Rights Objections. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has issued a lengthy report (pdf) detailing the process and results from managing Legal Rights Objections to new top level domain names. Although the report is merely an analysis, it appears WIPO is quietly patting itself on the back for a job well done. While the two other arbitration groups are still finalizing ... read more ...
Thu 19th December 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Clear examples of craziness in Limited Public Interest Objections - Latest .health decisions show that Limited Public Interest objections are not consistent. An International Chamber of Commerce panel has handed down a decision on a consolidated limited public interest objection against .health. The decision shows more inconsistencies in how panels are handling limited public interest objections. The case against DotHealth LLC’s (pdf) and Donuts’ .health (pdf) applications was filed by Independent Objector Alain Pellet. Pellet ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
This one striking threatens to derail swell in a new TLD program - “See, we told you this whole thing is a shakedown.” This one graphic below, as spotted by Michael Berkens earlier today and published on Vox Populi’s website, threatens to set the forward momentum of the new TLD program back quite a bit: (click here for full size) Any ground the Intellectual Property Constituency was going to give in its ongoing requests to ICANN. Any ground the Governmental Advisory Committee was going to give on its advice to ICANN. It’s ... read more ...
Wed 18th December 2013
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Is .Quebec The Motivation For The UDRP on Quebec.com? - We broke the news this morning that an agency of the Provence of Quebec filed a UDRP on the domain name Quebec.com. Anything.com has owned the domain since at least 1998 making the domain some 15 years old. The domain is parked but according to Screenshots.com has been parked since at least 2004 or about 10 years. So why now? Why did the government of Quebec decide to go after Quebec.com after all this time? We think the answer is that the government is supporting the new gTLD of .Quebec which should ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Google updates URL dismissal tool, aka mugshot/revenge porn dismissal tool - System allows people to alert Google that a page has been deleted, blocked, or changed. Google has improved its tools for removing a page from its search results or cache on a website you don’t own. The tool is designed for people to alert Google that a page has been deleted, had robots.txt added, or the content has been changed. I think you can call this the mugshot removal tool, since one of its purposes is to remove mugshot pages from Google once the mugshot ... read more ...
Tue 17th December 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Parajumpers wins a UDRP on third try - Company behind Parajumpers clothing brand takes UDRP more seriously and wins Parajumpers.org domain name. Ape Partners S. p. A. and licensee PJS International S.A. have finally won a UDRP for a Parajumpers domain name after three tries. The company sells winter clothing under the brand name Parajumpers. In May the company filed complaints against the domain names parajumpers-outlet.com and parajumpers.com. Based on the panel decisions, it appears the company and ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domainers are going to adore and hatred a QLP.com UDRP decision - Complaint fails, by why did only one panelist find Quality Logo Products guilty of reverse domain name hijacking? Get On The Web, Ltd has successfully defended the domain name QLP.com in a UDRP brought by Quality Logo Products, Inc. While the overall decision in the case was good, domain investors are still going to be upset about some of the details. The obvious fact here is that QLP.com is a generic domain. It was also registered in 1999. That’s seven years before ... read more ...
Mon 16th December 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
People are already frontrunning on a subsequent turn of new TLDs - .Whatever trademark applications are still being submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Before the application period for the current round of new top level domain names opened, many people and companies filed trademark applications to try to claim superior rights to strings. They applied for trademarks on .app, .wedding…you name it. The practice was known as new TLD trademark fronrunning. This didn’t actually do them any good in the application process. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN updates new TLD auction plans, still no fortitude for surreptitious contention - ICANN has published new rules for upcoming auctions which will resolve top level domain strings with more than one applicant. ICANN has published updated rules for its so-called “Auctions of Last Resort” to resolve new top level domain name contention sets. It has also published a draft schedule for the auctions. ICANN hopes to resolve 20 contention sets per month via auction. With 201 contention sets, this means the auction procedure could extend into 2015. This ... read more ...
Fri 13th December 2013
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Overstock.com Sues NoMoreRack.com For Trademark Infringement For Buying Keyword Ads Under Overstock - Overstock.com filed suit in the Federal Court for Utah for trademark infringement against NoMoreRack.com apparently over NoMoreRack.com’s use of the word Overstock in its ads and for buying keyword advertising under the term Overstock. Here are the relevant parts of the Complaint: “Overstock.com, Inc. files this Complaint for trademark infringement and unfair competition, and seeks a preliminary injunction, a permanent injunction, and damages against Defendant Nomorerack.com and alleges as follows: “Upon ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
A small bit some-more about a Trademark Clearinghouse’s extended warning service - Answers to two questions about the TMCH extending alerts beyond 90 days. Yesterday I wrote about how the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) is extending the amount of time it will alert trademark holders if someone registers domains that contain their mark. Originally set for just 90 days, now the TMCH will extend the service for as long as a mark is registered with the TMCH. (For more background, see my previous story.) Some readers brought up good questions, which I ... read more ...
Thu 12th December 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Ombudsman questioning unsuitable new TLD conflict decisions - ICANN’s Ombudsman is looking into consistency of new top level domain name objections. Both new top level domain name applicants and objectors have been grasping for options after falling on the adverse side of panels’ decision. Many have filed reconsideration requests with ICANN’s board, all of which have been denied so far. Others have turned to courts. ICANN seems content to sit on the sidelines and see how everything plays out. Which is why upset parties ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
It looks like someone is already typosquatting on recently substituted tip turn domain names - Just a few dozen second level domain names for new TLDs have been registered so far. Yet it looks like people are already typosquatting on them. Last week .Club Domains LLC, the company that’s launching the .club top level domain name, bought nicclub.com for $3,500 on Sedo. Anyone who has been following new top level domain name delegations will immediately recognize this as a defensive move for what will become a typo of .Club’s first second level domain name, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Objection Panel goes Rogue and Kills .Hospital domain name - Two members of an objection panel come up with their own rules for whether a top level domain name is acceptable. An International Chamber of Commerce panel has killed the .hospital top level domain name by siding with the Independent Objector in a Limited Public Interest Objection against Donuts. I believe the panel wrote its own rules and came to its decision improperly. It went rogue. And to back me up, I have a concise and clearly written dissent (pdf) by one ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
A large website is going to go dim interjection to ICANN’s new Whois verification - New verification requirement is bound to ensnare some notable websites. ICANN’s 2013 Registrar Accreditation Agreement is slowly going into effect at major domain name registrars. The biggest change that people who register domain names will notice is whois verification. Starting January 1, when you register a domain name, you will have to verify your contact details with the registrar. Most registrars will send a verification email to you with simple verification ... read more ...
Wed 11th December 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Drug hulk Sanofi loses domain brawl interjection to committed settlement panelist - Despite no response from domain name owner, panelist considers all of the facts. I often call out UDRP panelists who “phone in” their decisions without considering the other site of the story. So today I’m happy to write about a case brought by pharmaceutical company Sanofi against the owner of Sinofn.com. Panelist Susanna H.S. Leong should be commended for taking the time to truly consider the case Sanofi brought, despite the domain name owner not responding ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Company behind UDRPSearch.com sues after being strike with a UDRP - Virtual Point responds to StableTable.com UDRP with its own lawsuit. Virtual Point, the company that runs the UDRP search and aggregation site UDRPSearch.com, has filed a federal lawsuit after being hit with a UDRP. Hedera AB, a Swedish company, filed a UDRP (pdf) against the company’s domain name StableTable.com on December 4. Rather than just wait for the World Intellectual Property Organization determination, Virtual Point filed a lawsuit (pdf) in federal court ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Ameritrade loses .broker conflict opposite association that spent $4.7M in IG.com - IG Group’s .broker top level domain name application survives objection procedure. TD Ameritrade has lost a Limited Public Interest (LPI) objection against IG Group’s application to run the .broker top level domain name. IG Group is the company that recently spent $4.7 million for the domain name IG.com. Both IG Group and Donuts applied for the .broker string, but IG Group plans to run the domain name as a “closed” registry. That, plus the fact that IG Group ... read more ...
Tue 10th December 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Hardheaded governments vs. Amazon.com - Amazon details some of the concessions it was willing to make to governments in the Amazon region. One of the more peculiar new top level domain name battles is the one between Amazon.com and and governments of the Amazon area, including Brazil and Peru. At the request of these countries, the Governmental Advisory Committee has effectively killed Amazon.com’s bid for .amazon and two internationalized equivalents in Japanese and Chinese. It’s sometimes difficult ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Verisign loses new TLD conflict opposite .brand applicant M-NET - Verisign loses another string confusion challenge. Verisign, the registry for .net domain names, has lost a string confusion objection it brought against M-Net and its application for the top level domain .mnet. M-Net is a pay-TV channel in South Africa. It applied for .mnet as a closed .brand domain name, and the closed nature weighed heavily in the panelist’s decision. Verisign tried to argue that M-Net could change its business model in the future, and this could ... read more ...
Mon 9th December 2013
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.Music, .Song, and .Tunes new tip turn domain name objections opposite Amazon.com dismissed - Amazon.com prevails in dispute over three music related top level domain names. An International Chamber of Commerce panelist has ruled against the American Association of Independent Music’s (A2IM) community objections to Amazon.com’s bids to run the .music, .song, and .tunes domain names. A2IM is backing a rival bid for .music by Constantinos Roussos. A2IM filed objections against seven rival applications for .music. Each case will certainly be different. For ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Tony Willoughby finds another association guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking - Panelist finds another company guilty of reverse domain name hijacking. World Intellectual Property Organization panelist Tony Willoughby has found Aero Club of New Delhi, India guilty of reverse domain name hijacking in a UDRP. This is Willoughby’s second RDNH finding in under a month. In both cases, it appears that the respondent did not specifically request the panelist to consider an RDNH charge. (Willoughby, like some other panelists, recognizes the duty to ... read more ...
Thu 5th December 2013
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Breaking: 9th Circuit Says No Such Thing As Contributory Cybersquatting Under ACPA: Ruling In Godaddy’s Favor - The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has just ruled that there is No Such Thing As Contributory Cybersquatting Under  the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act  (ACPA). The case is  PETROLIAM NASIONAL, Plaintiff-counter-claim-defendant, Appellant, v.GODADDY.COM, INC.Defendant-counter-claimant,  Appellee., No. 12-15584 D.C. No. 4:09-cv-05939- PJH The case is an appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Petroliam Nasional Berhad, a Malaysian oil and ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
“Cloud” is not a community, new TLD panelist rules - Group’s definition of “cloud community” is too broad. Cloud Industry Forum Limited has lost its community objections against three applications for the .cloud top level domain name. The objections were filed against the three applicants who planned to keep their .cloud registries closed to registrations: Google, Amazon.com, and Symantec. Panelist Stephen L. Drymer ruled that the community Cloud Industry Forum claimed in the objection is not “clearly delineated.” ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Standard & Poor’s loses domain name dispute - Financial services company and rating agency can’t have “boycott” domain name, panel rules. Standard Poor’s has lost a UDRP against the domain name BoycottStandardandPoors.com at World Intellectual Property Organization. The domain name owner argued that he’s exercising his first amendment rights by owning the “gripe” style domain name. The panel determined that the domain name could be used as a gripe site and be protected, so it denied Standard Poor’s ... read more ...