Tag Archives: legal

Thu 16th May 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Mexican hit lenses UDRPs don’t supplement up - Complainant had a weak case but panelist determines it’s not reverse domain name hijacking. WIPO just handed down decisions for two cases involving domains used for selling contact lenses in Mexico. David Guerra Flores filed the cases against Carlos Perez for pupilentes.com.mx and pupilentes.com. Both cases were resolved by panelist Reynaldo Urtiaga Escobar, who determined that Flores did not prove that Perez lacked rights or legitimate interests in the domain names. However, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
What they’re observant about a GAC’s guarantee advice - Is the GAC right? It depends on who you ask. The ICANN New gTLD Board Committee request for comment on the GAC’s safeguard advice has closed, and the reply period will open soon. Here are some select comments, along with links to the full comments. “Instead of Guidebook advice, the GAC has offered public policy advice and expects the whole New gTLD program to be halted until such advice is considered and adopted.” -Jonathon Nevett, Donuts Inc “The GAC is proposing ... read more ...
Wed 15th May 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN publishes 2012 taxation return - Tax return unveils compensation, legal costs. ICANN just published its FY 2012 tax return online (pdf). The form tax return covers the year ending June 30, 2012. Much of the information, including financials, had previously been published by ICANN on its web site, so there’s not much new there. What may be most interesting is the latest compensation information for ICANN’s high ranking and top paid employees. I count 17 positions earning $200,000 or more in reportable ... read more ...
Mon 13th May 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Armani loses domain brawl for EA7.com - Respondent argued EA was short for Education Assistance. Fashion brand Giorgio Armani has lost a domain name dispute with a South Korean group over the domain name EA7.com. Armani sells a line of sports clothing under the EA7 name. It appears that the EA7 brand was around prior to the domain registrant acquiring the domain name in 2010. However, the domain owner argued that it registered the domain because it stands for its business name “Education Assistance”, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Angry Birds builder files the initial UDRP - Company goes after site selling Angry Birds merchandise. Rovio Entertainment, the company behind the wildly popular Angry Birds franchise, has filed its first ever domain dispute under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). The company is targeting the owner of AngryBirdSite.com and AngryBirdsmart.com. As of right now, AngryBirdSite.com resolves to a web site with an AngryBirdsMart logo that sells products emblazoned with Angry Birds designs. It ... read more ...
Thu 9th May 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Stupid, incompetent, or both? - A Generally Atrocious Communiqué. I’ve learned a lot over the years while writing about the domain industry. In the past three years I’ve learned that if there’s a laborious article I need to research and write that has to do with new TLDs, I can just wait a little while and Kevin Murphy will do it instead. That’s what he’s done with “This is how stupid the GAC’s new gTLDs advice is“. The GAC’s “advice” about new top level domains coming out ... read more ...
Wed 8th May 2013
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Network Solutions Seizes Over 700 Domain Names & Sites Associated To Syrian President - According to krebsonsecurity.com, Network Solutions has seized more than 700 domain names “belonging to various Syrian entities, including a prominent Syrian hacker group and sites associated with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad”. According to the story the seizures all occurred within a three- to four-day period in mid-April. “The apparently coordinated action ended with each of the site’s registration records being changed to include Web.com’s Florida address, as well as ... read more ...
Mon 6th May 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
iPad box builder withdraws boneheaded domain complaint - Makers of The Snugg are a bit slow, but I guess they finally got some good advice. Last week I wrote about how Charon International Trading Limited, maker of The Snugg iPad cases, was about to lose its second UDRP domain dispute. Technically, I was wrong. Perhaps realizing the error of its ways, Charon has now withdrawn the UDRP it filed for Snug.com. The Snug.com case would have been its second UDRP loss in two tries. Charon lost its first UDRP when it tried to hijack ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
WaterNight earnings during TRAFFIC Vegas - Fundraising event in Las Vegas this month will benefit Water School. Water School, a non-profit that helps bring clean water to those in developing countries, will host its second WaterNight during TRAFFIC in Las Vegas this month. The group hosted the first WaterNight during WebFest in Santa Monica in February. It was more crowded than the conference itself and it helped raise $40,000 for Water School. Water School executive director Richard Lau had his head shaved ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Secure field take note: association isn’t giving adult heading conflict yet - Company that filed .secure trademark application appeals USPTO ruling. The Wisconsin company that wants to trademark .secure hasn’t given up yet. I first wrote about Asif LLC in 2010 when it filed a trademark application for .secure. It also filed an application to trademark .bank. The application was originally filed on an intent-to-use basis. Later, Asif said it was using the term in commerce for “domain registration services”. How was it doing that in 2011, ... read more ...
Thu 2nd May 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Don’t let your son-in-law register your domain name - He might hold onto it if he gets a divorce. Occasionally a UDRP is filed that’s part of a family feud. Earlier this year I wrote about a how a guy filed a UDRP against his brother. Now here’s another one: a man filed a UDRP against his ex-son-in-law. According to the complainant, his family gave him his last name as a .com back in 2002. But apparently his son-in-law had actually done the registration and did it in his own name. Later, the complainant’s daughter ... read more ...
Wed 1st May 2013
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Facebook CyberSquatting Judgement: 105 Domains; 10 Domain Holders; $2.8 Million in Damages – Draft - A federal court in California awarded Facebook $2.8 Million dollars under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) yesterday. There were 10 domain name holders and one company that seemed to supply the landing page that some of the domain holders used to monetize the domains. In all there were 105 domain names at issue. The Court actually set up a formula to determine what the damage per domain should be based on several factors outlined below starting as low as $5,000 per domain but ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Slow learners: The Snugg is about to remove the 2nd UDRP - Company files case against Roy Messer’s Snug.com. iPad case maker lost a UDRP for Snugg.com last year. Now it is going after Snugg.com, a case it should lose for the same reason: Snug.com was registered in 1999.Some people just don’t get it. Consider Charon International Trading Limited, makers of The Snugg iPad cases. The company owns TheSnugg.com, and desperately wants a shorter domain. So in February it filed a UDRP against the owner of Snugg.com. The UDRP ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Law organisation sues association for promulgation false heading renovation notices - Law firm sues to stop company that it alleges sends misleading trademark notices. Domain name owners often receive official looking notices by snail mail warning them that their domains are about to expire and asking them to renew. Often times these notices look like invoices and ask recipients to pay very high prices to keep their domain name active. Back in 2005 two people were fined $2.3 million for one such scheme. Anyone who has a federal trademark is also familiar ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Verisign blasts ICANN over due registry agreement - Verisign says unilateral right to amend is alive and well in proposed contract. Verisign senior vice presidents Pat Kane and Richard Goshorn have sent a letter to ICANN blasting the inclusion of amendment right clauses in the proposed new registry agreement. In the sometimes snarky letter, Verisign claims that ICANN’s unilateral right to amend the new gTLD agreement is alive and well, despite some changes to language in the latest version. Verisign’s interests ... read more ...
Tue 30th April 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
pair Networks sues PairShare for heading infringement - pair Networks takes issue with music app called PairShare. Web hosting company pair Networks has sued Pairshare, LLC for trademark infringement. PairShare offers an app that lets people share music between iPhones, iPods, and iPads via bluetooth. In the lawsuit (pdf), pair Networks argues that PairShare violates its trademarks, including for the term “Pair”. Although pair Networks doesn’t compete directly with PairShare, it argues that offering downloadable ... read more ...
Mon 29th April 2013
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Dept Of Homeland Security Seizes 10 Domain Names - Yourhoustonnews.com is reporting that “The  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) seized 10 Internet domain names that were illegally selling trademarked cycling equipment and apparel globally.” “The 10 seized domain names are a continuation of “Operation In Our Sites” (IOS), an HSI sustained law enforcement initiative that began in 2010.” “The seized domain names are now in the custody of the U.S. government.” “Visitors typing ... read more ...
Fri 26th April 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Philadelphia Inquirer wants to possess a tenure “Philly” - Company loses dispute over domain name that includes “Philly”. Philadelphia’s dominant newspaper, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and its parent company apparently think they own the term “Philly”. True, the newspaper’s home on the web is Philly.com. But anyone who has ever eaten a Philly cheesesteak knows that it’s a common nickname for the city. So it’s with a bit of surprise that the company decided to go after a local news site, Philly2Philly.com, claiming ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
NCSG hurdles ICANN preference to extend Trademark Clearinghouse rights - Formal Request for Reconsideration challenges trademark owners ability to add 50 derivatives of trademarks to clearinghouse. The GNSO Noncommercial Users Stakeholders Group has submitted a Request for Reconsideration to ICANN’s Board Governance Committee concerning a decision by ICANN to extend trademark protections in new top level domains. The reconsideration request argues that ICANN shouldn’t have added the so-called “Trademark +50″ protection in the Trademark ... read more ...
Wed 24th April 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Charity files UDRP over Frank Schilling’s WalkTheWalk.com domain - Group owns .org version of domain name. The charity that owns WalkTheWalk.org has filed a UDRP against Frank Schilling’s Name Administration Inc. for the domain name WalkTheWalk.com. Walk the Walk Worldwide raises money to raise awareness about breast cancer. It certainly has an attention-grabbing approach: it gets women to walk marathons in bras to raise money. The United Kingdom charity has a couple trademarks for the term, including for a logo and simply “walk ... read more ...
Tue 23rd April 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
What a new RAA means for YOU, a domain registrant - Your responsibilities when registering a domain name will soon change. Late yesterday ICANN published the proposed “final” new Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) for public comment. The update RAA will have an impact on how you register domain names. You must verify your phone number or email address. After you register a domain, transfer it to a new registrar, or transfer ownership of a domain, you will have to confirm your email address or phone number ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain settlement cases corner adult somewhat in 2012 - …but trail the growth in domain name registrations. National Arbitration Forum (NAF) has released its official numbers for 2012 UDRP cases. Combined with World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) results, the number of UDRP cases filed last year appears to have edged up slightly. NAF reported a total of 2,060 cases for 2012 last year, which was 22 fewer than in 2011. WIPO earlier reported 2,884 cases, up from 2,764 in 2011. Between the two biggest UDRP ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
DomainSkate offers templated UDRP complaints for $399 - Low cost service prepares UDRP filing to submit to National Arbitration Forum. DomainSkate lets anyone create a UDRP complaint. Users would be wise to have the complaint reviewed by an attorney before submitting it.The biggest cost of filing or responding to a UDRP isn’t paying fees to National Arbitration Forum or WIPO. It’s typically the lawyer’s fees that add up to the most. DomainSkate aims to change that by offering a low cost way to compile the necessary ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Internet Giant TenCent bumbles domain dispute - Company drops ball in UDRP submission. It’s possible you’ve never heard of TenCent. I hadn’t heard of it until reading The Economist’s recent spread on the internet in China. But it’s big in China. Huge. With a market cap of $60 billion (U.S.), it’s right up there with Facebook in terms of valuation. Yet TenCent Holdings failed to win the domain name TenCentGames.com in a UDRP, despite the domain holder not responding to the complaint. TenCent successfully ... read more ...
Mon 22nd April 2013
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
NAF Sets URS Fees $375-$500 Per Complaint & $400 For Domain Holder - The National Arbitration Forum, (NAF) has just released its proposed Supplemental Rules for Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) , including complainant fees that range from $375 – $500 depending on number of domains involved. The fee for the domain holder who gets hit with a URS is $400 if the complaint is for more than 16 domain names. However all domain holders will have to pay for a re-evaluation of a negative URS decision and an appeal of a URS decision. Here is a complete set of the proposed rules ... read more ...