Mastercard’s “Priceless” symbol isn’t priceless, row rules - WIPO arbitration panel finds against Mastercard on “Priceless” claims. A World Intellectual Property Organization panelist has ruled against Mastercard in a dispute over domain names related to its “Priceless” trademark. The credit card company filed complaints against pricelessistanbul.com and pricelessamsterdam.com, saying they violated their trademark rights. In both cases the owner of the domains didn’t bother to respond to the allegations. But panelist ... read more ...

Mimicking a company’s whois record to censor a cybersquatting domain - As I said, you don’t understand the difference between “evidence” and “proof”. They are not the same thing. If a bank was robbed on Elm Street at 9PM, then if a witness claims to have seen me on Elm Street at 9PM, that testimony is evidence that I robbed the bank. Is it proof? No. A lot of people were on that street. The witness could be mistaken, etc. But, it is one piece of evidence which, in connection with other evidence, may advance the argument that I robbed the ... read more ...

WIPO row steals 4 minute domain from BuyDomains - Panel hands down the wrong decision in FACI.com case. A three member World Intellectual Property Organization panel has found that BuyDomains (NameMedia) registered FACI.com in bad faith. The case makes no sense. It seems that the panel’s judgement hinges on the fact that BuyDomains knew about the complainant’s trademark for FACI upon acquisition of the domain. But BuyDomains made it clear that, although it became aware of the trademark, it was very limited in ... read more ...

Man petitions to get Google trademarks canceled after Google files UDRP opposite 763 domain names - A whopping UDRP and a strange reaction. Google has filed a single UDRP case with National Arbitration Forum covering a whopping 763 domains. [Update: it won the case.] The domains names include the word Google followed by common search terms, e.g.: googleiphone4s.com googlevolkswagengroup.com googlescientology.com googlesamsung.com googledusseldorf.com googlesalvador.com googleducks.com googlesaints.com Many of these are “double trademarks” covering a Google trademark ... read more ...

As .eco field squabble, .green might be a large winner - Legal challenges could result in .eco delays. The new top level domain application window hasn’t even closed, but possible applicants for .eco have already been fighting for years. Now three potential applicants are tied up court, as explained in this cancellation proceeding at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. This may provide an opening for .green. Personally, I think .green is a better choice than .eco to begin with. And, if the most vocal .green applicant ... read more ...

Cybersquatting lawsuit filed opposite KnowMore.com - It will be interesting to “know more” about this lawsuit. A Florida broadcast video company has filed a lawsuit (pdf) against the owner of KnowMore.com claiming trademark infringement and cybersquatting. NewsProNet, Inc. has a registered trademark for “Know More” for “Entertainment services in the nature of the production and distribution of recurring television news programs, reports and features in the field of consumer issues, health and medicine, family, ... read more ...

Thursday is deadline to criticism on VeriSign .com renewal - Time running out to comment on .com contract. Thursday, April 26 is the last day to comment to ICANN about its proposed contract renewal with VeriSign. The terms of the agreement are very similar to ICANN’s last .com contract. It allows VeriSign to raise the wholesale price of .com domains by 7% for four of the six years in the contract. That means the wholesale price of .com domains could hit $10.29 by 2016. That doesn’t include ICANN’s per-domain tax. You ... read more ...

Paris still using divided from retreat domain hijacking claim - Paris’ motto in domain disputes: fire an attack, then run away. The city of Paris — officially Ville de Paris — apparently likes to lob attacks and then run away when it has to defend itself. Back in 2009 the city filed a UDRP against Parvi.org. In another ridiculous decision handed down by panelist Andrew F. Christie, Paris won the UDRP despite the domain not likely being registered in bad faith. So Parvi.org owner Jeffrey Walter sued Paris in Texas Court. ... read more ...

Another .music heading focus and an engaging one for .pay - .Music trademark application dead on arrival and merchant service company applies for .pay mark. A California sole proprietor is the latest person to waste money trying to trademark .music. Joseph Walker, through is company ExtraWeb Ent., filed the application on April 12. Walker claims he’s using .music in commerce since April 10. Here’s his proof: I tried to view that URL to see if it’s live on the internet, but I must not have been able to read it correctly. The ... read more ...

1-800-PETMEDS says it owns “PetMeds” term - Company files complaint against rival store but loses. When you hear “Pet Meds”, what do you think about? The store 1-800-PetMeds.com or simply “pet medications”. Pet meds is a simple descriptive term, shorthand for pet medications. But online pet pharmacy PetMed Express, Inc., a.k.a. 1-800-PetMeds, says it owns the term “PetMeds” and is going after competitors that use the term in their domains. Amazingly, the company was granted a trademark to “PetMeds” ... read more ...

Huffington Post Union of Bloggers loses domain name - The man sticks it to group that was trying to stick it to the man. A group that bills itself as a union for current an former Huffington Post bloggers has lost its main domain name. Huffington Post Union of Bloggers (HPUB) just lost a dispute brought by Huffington Post parent AOL under the uniform domain name dispute resolution policy (UDRP). Basically, AOL said HPUB was cybersquatting. While HPUB says it’s a union, it’s site is actually a news site very similar ... read more ...

California Toyota play guilty of retreat domain name hijacking - Hooman Toyota of Long Beach chastised by National Arbitration Forum. A California Toyota dealer has been found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking by a National Arbitration Forum panel. Hooman Toyota of Long Beach, also known as HTL Automotive, Inc, filed a dispute against the owner of Hooman.com. Not only is the domain name registered to a guy named Hooman, but he also registered the domain four years prior to HTL using the name in commerce, according to the ... read more ...

Google files UDRP censure opposite domain purebred in 1991 - Google files complaint against two decade old domain. Google has filed a UDRP against a 21 year old domain name: Gmai.com. How could Google do such a thing? After all, the company was founded in 1998 and Gmail (of which this domain could be considered a typo) wasn’t created until 2004. Well, have a look at the page you’re forwarded to when you type gmai.com into your browser: This misuse of the domain wouldn’t be enough to make the case a slam dunk if it weren’t ... read more ...

Marchex sued for Skype click-to-call-jacking - Florida satellite company says Marchex is stealing phone calls from it. A Florida satellite TV company has sued Marchex (NASDAQ: MCHX), alleging that the company is hijacking Skype calls of people trying to reach the company (pdf). A-SAT Inc., d/b/a International Satellite Antenna Service, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Orlando on Thursday. If you have Skype installed on your computer, then you’ve seen how phone numbers are automatically turned into links. ... read more ...

TAS glitch will call in to doubt digital archery for new TLDs - Will applicants trust results of digital archery? ICANN’s announcement that some sensitive new TLD applicant information could have been accessed is sure to cause more doubt about its planned “digital archery” scheme. The so-called digital archery plan will be used to help determine how top level domain applicants are slotted in queue. Applicants essentially pick a time, login to a special web page, and click a submit button as close to that time as possible. ... read more ...

MediaSet has no one to censure though itself for domain name woes - Italian broadcaster’s comedy of errors for MediaSet.com. Italy’s largest broadcaster, MediaSet, recently lost a UDRP case for the domain name MediaSet.com. But the company apparently got a court in Rome to overrule the UDRP decision. The court apparently ordered the domain transferred and that a fine be paid each day until it’s transferred. I don’t know how MediaSet expects the court to enforce this. The domain is registered to a Delaware man at a register ... read more ...

Facebook not holding on to all recovered typo domains - Company lets domain expire that was recovered in lawsuit. Facebook has been on the hunt over the past year to capture typos of its domain names. But it’s not holding on to all of them. For example, last year the company filed a massive cybersquatting lawsuit covering hundreds of domains. One of the domains was Facebbbook.com. According to historical whois records, the domain was once controlled by Kevin Ham’s Vertical Axis. After the suit was filed, the domain ... read more ...

Spotify final Spotify ripping site be taken down - Spotify files complaint over SpotifyRip.com. Online music phenomenon Spotify has filed a complaint in an effort to take down a web site that explains how to rip music from its service. The company filed the complaint against SpotifyRip.com with World Intellectual Property Organization under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). UDRP is a policy for handling cybersquatting complaints, but it’s probably the fastest route for the company to take ... read more ...

In A Case That Can Change The PPC Industry, A Federal Appeals Court Allows Rosetta Stone’s TM Case Against Google To Move Forward - In what might be a ground breaking case that could shake up the entire PPC industry, the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit Monday reversed a lower court’s ruling allowing Rosetta Stone’s trademark infringement suit against Google to continue. Rosetta Stone filed suit in 2009 accusing Google of committing trademark infringement by selling ads under keywords of Rosetta Stone Trademarks  to third-party advertisers. A Virginia district court dismissed the case in 2010, finding that sale of ... read more ...

Bain & Company takes quarrel with BainConsultingGroup.com owners to court - Consulting firm sues man for copyright and trademark infringement of Bain name. Bain Company, one of the world’s most prestigious management consulting firms and a former employer of presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is taking a Colorado man to court over his use of the “Bain Consulting” name and the domain name BainConsultingGroup.com. According to Bain (pdf), it became aware of Jim Woods’ registration of BainConsultingGroup.com in February. The domain ... read more ...

JustinTV.com sole for $32,500 on eBay and only got strike with a UDRP - Buyer may learn an expensive lesson. In February a Chile man bought the domain name JustinTV.com for $32,500 on eBay. JustinTV.com is, of course, often mistakenly typed in by people looking for the popular live TV site Justin.tv. This wasn’t a problem for the seller of the domain. In his eBay listing he said his name was Justin and he registered the domain in 1999. But he also noted that the domain receives 64,000 unique visitors per week. There’s a simple explanation ... read more ...

Domain Tools files preemptive lawsuit over copyright claims and the trademark - Domain Tools files lawsuit for declaratory relief on copyright and trademark issues. Domain Tools, LLC has filed suit (pdf) against a New Jersey man after he threatened to file a lawsuit against it and try to get its trademark for “Domain Tools” overturned. The suit was filed against Russ Smith, owner of Consumer.net and Network-Tools.com, in U.S. District Court in Washington late last month. According to the suit, Smith had sent a draft lawsuit to DomainTools ... read more ...

New gTLD hopefuls play heading games in EU, too - French lawyer with ICANN, NAF, and WIPO connections helps new TLD applicants file trademarks for prospective top level domains. I’ve chronicled many of the attempts by new gTLD hopefuls to “frontrun” trademarks for new TLDs in the United States. Here are 115 examples. But that’s just in the U.S. system. And it’s not a huge threat since the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is rejecting these applications. Yet there’s some trademarking activity in the European ... read more ...

Fox News: WIPO (Largest UDRP Provider) Violates U.N. Ban & Sends Sophisticated Computers To North Korea - According to Fox News, WIPO  “shipped sophisticated computer servers to the government of North Korea, despite ongoing U.N. sanctions against the regime for its efforts to build nuclear weapons.” WIPO is the number one  provider of UDRP arbitration services handling more cases than any other provider in the world. Despite that WIPO is an agency of the U.N. empowered to deal with Intellectual Property matters, Fox News reports that the “procurement and payment appears to have been arranged ... read more ...