Tag Archives: legal

Tue 14th June 2011
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
1 Dissenting Panelist Calls Out Rest Of UDRP Panel On MyCVS.com For Not Recognizing Laches After 4.5 Years - A three member UDRP ruled in favor of CVS pharmacy against Top Investments, LLLP of Mesa, Arizona, who was represented by ESQwire.com, on the domain name Mycvs.com The domain holder claimed that the trademark holder waited too long to file a UDRP on the domain and one of the panelists agreed. However the other two panelist refused to acknowledge the passage of time, otherwise known as Laches, as a bar to the trademark holder. Here is the dissenting opinion of Neil Brown: “”I disagree with the ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
U.S. Shuns .Music Trademark Ahead of New TLD Launch - Trademark office questions use in commerce of .music logo. Constantine Roussos has made it clear that he plans to use international trademarks to help him win the .music top level domain name during the application process. But the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office isn’t playing a long. On December 31 Roussos filed a trademark application for a .music logo. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office wrote back saying there were two problems: 1. The mark hasn’t been ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
U.S. Government to Drop .Gov Domain Names - .Gov domain deletions coming. Of course, you can’t have any. Via GovInfoSecurity.com comes news that the White House wants to trim the number of .gov domain names and associated web sites. I find it ironic that the Obama administration is the one to crack down on the number of web sites and .gov domains (numbered at 2,000 at the second level) given that it has probably embraced special purpose .gov domains more than any previous administration. Think Change.gov. But ... read more ...
Mon 13th June 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
6 UDRP Cases to Watch - 6 notable UDRP filings this month. Here are a half dozen UDRP cases filed this month to keep an eye on for various reasons. ChrisFarley.com – I’m guessing it is the estate of the late comedian that filed this case. Twiter.com – Twitter files a UDRP against the owner of Twiter.com, a site that clearly tries to trick users who are looking for Twitter.com. IXO.com – I’m always suspicious of filings for three letter domain names. Let’s see what the deal is ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Tucows Wins Another UDRP, What Was Greenberg Traurig Thinking? - Lawyer makes some really bad accusations. Tucows has won another domain name that is part of its “Personal Names Service”. Tucows acquired the domain name Primm.com when it bought Mailbank (NetIdentity) in 2006. NetIdentity registered the domain name in 1996. The case was filed by Herbst Gaming, LLC with the help of Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Greenberg Traurig is no stranger to UDRP filings, having represented over 400 UDRP cases. This makes the arguments presented ... read more ...
 
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3M Sues Whois Privacy Services and Web Hosts Over Gambling Domains - Company names major domain companies in basket of defendants for cybersquatting. 3M has filed a lawsuit against a who’s who of domain name whois privacy services, registrars, and web hosts, along with numerous John Does. The conglomerate alleges the defendants are using a number of domain names incorporating 3M’s trademark for gambling sites. Example sites include mmmbet.net, 3M-Asia.com, and 3m-sportbetting.com. A number of the site names have changed since ... read more ...
Sun 12th June 2011
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Twitter.com Files UDRP For Twiter.com - According to a post by Fusible last night, Twitter.com just filed a UDRP on the domain name Twiter.com yesterday (D2011-0986) Twiter.com was registered on May 7th 2004. According to current whois Twitter.com was registered on May 24, 2009. However, Domaintools.com shows the domain being registered back in 2000. Twitter.com appears to have gotten the domain name in June 2007. Twitter also filed for a trademark in April 2007. So Twiter.com was registered three years before Twitter, Inc. got Twitter.com Twiter.com ... read more ...
 
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1st Trademarks, Now Wisconsin Court Says Its Ok To Buy Keyword Ads Under A Persons Name - There have been quite a few cases brought against advertisers for buying keyword ads under a trademark term but a Wisconsin Court just rejected an argument that buying a keyword under a persons name violated their right to privacy. In the case  Habush v. Cannon, the defendants a personal injury law firm bought ads under the keywords of  two of their competitors’ last names (“Habush” and “Rottier”). The Plaintiffs, not having a trademark rights  in their name, claimed a the ads violated ... read more ...
 
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Cricket.com Changes Web Site After Lawsuit - Site no longer shows ads related to mobile phones. Cricket.com owner Global Cricket Ventures hasn’t formally responded to Cricket Communications’ lawsuit over the domain name Cricket.com — at least in court. But it has drastically changes its web site to eliminate all references and ads related to mobile phones. The site is now just a bare bones one page web site with a couple news feeds about cricket and a score board. Gone is the fantasy cricket offering ... read more ...
Sat 11th June 2011
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Lawsuits: Google Sued For Trademark Infringement Over Its New ChromeBook: Apple Sued Over iCloud - According to Bloomberg.com, Intellectual property manager ISYS Technologies sued Google for trademark infringement claiming that  the Chrome operating system violates the trademarks for ISYS’s “Chromium” Computer. Google’s new ChromeBook operates on the Google Chrome Operating Ststem. I guess as a web browser ISYS had no problem with Google’s Chrome,  but now that there is going to be a computer with the name Chrome Incorporated in it, ISYS filed suit. “ISYS said today in a statement ... read more ...
Thu 9th June 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Company Files Cybersquatting Claim Against Twitter Username - Can a Twitter username be cybersquatting? One insurance company thinks so. Here’s an interesting lawsuit I just discovered that attempts to stretch the bounds of the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection act. Insurance company Conventry First has filed a federal lawsuit (pdf) against whomever is using the CoventryFirst username on Twitter, i.e. twitter.com/coventryfirst. But in addition to complaining about plain old trademark infringement, the company has thrown ... read more ...
 
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California Ecommerce Company Agrees to Stop Using UK Domain Names - FTC said company tried to dupe UK consumers into thinking it was a UK company. California online retailer “Balls of Kryptonite” has agreed to stop using .uk domain names as part of a deal with the Federal Trade Commission, according to a story in MediaPost. The FTC said the company used domain names like bestpricedbrands.co.uk and bitesizedeals.co.uk, listed prices in pounds, and said orders shipped via Royal Mail. Why the ruse? Apparently to make customers ... read more ...
Wed 8th June 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Atlas Shrugged Movie Producers Win 1, Lose 1 - Same panelist. Similar domains. Different result, even on confusing similarity. The producers of the new Atlas Shrugged Movie filed two UDRP cases with World Intellectual Property Forum for essentially the same domains: AtlasShruggedMovie.com and AtlasShruggedMovies.com. They lost the first one and won the second one. Oh, and the same panelist (Richard G. Lyon) heard both cases. And decided them within a day of each other. The facts in the cases differed slightly ... read more ...
 
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ICANN Responds to U.S. Government Questions About New Top Level Domains - Kurt Pritz responds to Congress. ICANN Senior Vice President Kurt Pritz has responded (pdf) to a written question and expanded on his answers to questioning from U.S. representatives during a hearing about new TLDs on May 4. Representative Howard Coble submitted a written question asking if ICANN was going to make special arrangements for “brand” top level domain names should a brand owner decide to wind down operation of the new top level domain name. At the ... read more ...
Tue 7th June 2011
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
The Biggest Loser Wins Big In A UDRP For TheBiggestLoser.com - The producer of the hit television show, The Biggest Loser won a UDRP against Theodore Lazier on the domain name thebiggestloser.com, finding that the show gained a Common Law Trademark the day the show was announced. While the producer registered US Trademarks in various classes, they were all done so well after the date of the domain registration.” Here are the relevant facts and findings of the one person panel: “Complainant publicly announced the launch of a television program named “The ... read more ...
 
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Sedo Asks Court to Dismiss Women.com Lawsuit on Jurisdiction Claims - Domain broker says lawsuit should not be heard in California. Done! Ventures has fought and won a jurisdiction battle in its lawsuit over Women.com already. Now it has to gear up for another fight. Sedo, which was recently added to the lawsuit originally filed against GE/NBC Universal for a failed transaction to purchase Women.com and Women.net, has asked the court to dismiss the case on jurisdiction grounds (pdf). According to Sedo’s court filing, Done! Ventures ... read more ...
Mon 6th June 2011
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Despite Trademark Domainer ECorp Beats Back UDRP On ChannelGuide.com - A well known domainer Chad Folkening, Ecorp beat back a UDRP from a powerhouse, the Tribune Media Services, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois, on the domain name ChannelGuide.com despite the presence of a bang on trademark,  the domain being used as a parked page and the case being decided by only a one person panel. Here are the relevant parts of the decision: “Complainant is the owner of United States Trademark Registration No. 1,943,605 for the CHANNEL GUIDE trademark, covering “magazines featuring ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Chad Folkening’s eCorp Beats Tribune Company in Domain Dispute - Panel refuses to give Tribune Media the ChannelGuide.com domain name. Chad Folkening’s eCorp has beaten Goliath in a UDRP decision. Folkening, who recently teamed up with John Ferber for Domain Holdings, is the registrant of over 1,000 “channel” domain names including ChannelGuide.com. Tribune Company publishes a number of newspapers and web sites, including Chicago Tribune and L.A. Times. It also operates a service called Channel Guide. Channel Guide’s ... read more ...
Fri 3rd June 2011
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
42nd Oldest Domain Lost in a UDRP: Octopus.com - In a three member WIPO decision the 42nd oldest domain name,  Octopus.com was lost in a UDRP. The domain name had a registration date of 1986 but was acquired by the domain holder in 2006. The Complainant was brought by Octopustravel Group Limited of London. Here is the relevant parts of the decision “The Complainant is doing business as a retailer of hotel accommodation and related services throughout the world and has been trading under the name OctopusTravel since 1999.” “Accommodation ... read more ...
 
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UDRP Awards Octopus.com to Online Travel Company - Travel company gets a nice domain name upgrade through UDRP in a strange case. A World Intellectual Property Organization panel has determined that the domain name Octopus.com should be transferred to Octopustravel Group Limited. The company’s current web site is OctopusTravel.com. Before you scream about this injustice you should read the facts. In fact, back in March I wrote about this case with the headline “1986 Domain Name Octopus.com Could Be Lost in UDRP“. All ... read more ...
Thu 2nd June 2011
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Nationnal.com and Natiional.com – One is a Trademark Typo, a Other Isn’t - Two different panels come to different conclusions in essentially the same case. I’m frequently perplexed by UDRP decisions for similar domain names. Here’s another example. National Arbitration Forum has handed down decisions for nationnal.com and natiional.com literally within days of each other. Both domains are typos of “National”, and both are parked at HitFarm. The cases were brought by Vanguard Trademark Holdings, which owns the National Car Rental ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Demand Media Gets Into a Other Side of UDRP - Company files complaint to get eHow domain name. Demand Media (NYSE: DMD) has been on the receiving end of plenty of UDRP cases for domain names. In fact, it may be barred from applying for new top level domain names because of its many losses (technically). But the company also finds itself on the other side of the table and just filed a case for eHowTravel.com. The web site appears to be a splog of travel information. Apparently Demand Media has registered ... read more ...
Wed 1st June 2011
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Tucows Wins UDRP for Surname Domain Hinkley.com - Registrar defends domain name from attack by lighting company. Domain name registrar Tucows has successfully defended the domain name hinkley.com, which is part of its expansive portfolio of surnames, from lighting company Hinkley Lighting, Inc in a UDRP. The domain name was registered in 1996 and came as part of Tucows’ acquisition of NetIdentity. The panel ruled that Hinkley Lighting failed to show that Tucows lacked rights or legitimate interests in the domain ... read more ...
 
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Viking Office Products Tries to Take Sentimental Domain Name from Altavista Inventor’s Widow - Company goes after Viking.org in arbitration only to find out the real reason the owner didn’t want to sell it. Viking Office Products, Inc., an affiliate of Office Depot, has been found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking in a bizarre case involving Viking.org. The office products company filed for arbitration with National Arbitration Forum to get the domain name, and painted registrant Natasha Flaherty as a cybersquatter who would only consider selling the ... read more ...
 
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Oversee.net Asks Court to Dismiss Monte Cahn’s Claims - Domain name company responds to lawsuit over incentive plan. Oversee.net has responded to a lawsuit by former employee Monte Cahn by asking the court to dismiss most of the lawsuit’s claims (pdf). Cahn sued Oversee.net last month over an incentive plan in which Cahn says he could have earned up to $13 million. Cahn alleges that he is owed money under the plan but was never paid. Oversee.net claims that the suit “is nothing more than an alleged breach of contract ... read more ...