Tag Archives: legal

Thu 2nd December 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Soccer Hero Pele Gets Pele.com Domain Name - Pele’s licensing group wins Pele.com at arbitration. A group that manages licensing for Edison “Edson” Arantes do Nascimento, aka Pele, has won rights to the domain name Pele.com. Montag Divulgaçao Ltda filed a complaint with World Intellectual Property Forum. It argued that the respondent registered the domain name in bad faith because the coming soon page at Pele.com read “website for sale” and redirected to valuate.com, an online domain name valuation ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
U.S. Government Calls for Delay to New Top Level Domain Names - Department of Commerce says ICANN board should not approve guidebook next week. In a scathing letter published today on ICANN’s web site, The United States Department of Commerce asked ICANN to not approve the launch of new TLDs during its meeting in Cartagena next week. The letter, signed by Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information Lawrence Strickling, says that ICANN is not living up to its agreements in the Affirmation of Commitments. Strickling ... read more ...
Wed 1st December 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Why Hasn’t The Government Seized The Domain Name WikiLeaks.Org? - As you know the government seized 82 domain names for intellectual property violations over the weekend. Yet the site WikiLeaks.org is publishing on a daily basis top secret and classified documents of the US government. This information is by in large damaging the country, its relations with other countries and even many countries relationships with other countries. The US government has said on many occasions some of the information endangers the lives of US citizens and citizens of other countries ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
The Supreme Court Lets The Ruling In Favor Of eBay For Selling Fake Tiffany Goods Stand - Last weekend we told you about the US government seizing over 70 domain names on which sites were allegedly  selling fake or counterfeit goods. The U.S. Supreme Court has now refused to hear an appeal filed by Tiffany over a 2008 court decision that found in favor of eBay in a trademark infringement lawsuit over the sale of fake Tiffany goods. By refusing to hear the appeal the Supreme Court is allowing a 2008 Federal court decision in to stand. eBay points out that they are not actually selling ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Gains $4.3M on Investments, War Chest Tops $60 Million - ICANN’s war chest continues to grow. ICANN released details of its FY 2010 financial year (which ran through June 2010) today. The non-profit had revenues of $65.8 million and expenses of $58.6 million. Revenues were up 9.2% from FY 2009 and expenses grew 14.3%. The revenue source is fairly evenly split between registrar and registry fees, although the registry fees are ultimately passed on from the registrant through both the registrar and registry. ICANN also ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Um, ICANN Had Nothing to Do with Torrent Domain Seizures - You can blame ICANN, but not for this one. I was just looking at ICANN’s page for next week’s meeting in Colombia and noticed they show a twitter feed picking up comments on ICANN. Today it’s flooded with this tweet: @brokep: Hello all #isp of the world. We’re going to add a new competing root-server since we’re tired of #ICANN. Please contact me to help. This discussion stems from the U.S. government seizure of a number of domain names last week that were ... read more ...
Tue 30th November 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Morgan Stanley Gets “Screwed By” Trademark Dispute - Company loses challenge over derogatory domain names. Morgan Stanley has lost a challenge at National Arbitration Forum for the domain names screwedbymorganstanleysmithbarney.com and screwedbymorganstanley.com. On the surface this seems like a classic case of a gripe site. In general, you are allowed to use domain names that include trademarks if the person going to the URL will clearly know the domain name isn’t owned by the trademark holder based on the URL alone ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
FMA Wins Domain Dispute for VEDA.com and It’s a Wild One - Domain goes through UDRP for a second time. Future Media Architects (FMA) has won another UDRP, this time for the generic four character domain name Veda.com. That FMA won is not a surprise, but the history of this domain name and some of the complainant’s accusations make this case more interesting. Complainant VEDA GmbH actually won a UDRP for Veda.com back in 2003. But it failed to take ownership of the domain name after it won and FMA bought the domain name ... read more ...
Mon 29th November 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Why Frank’s DealBook.com Win is A Big Deal For All Domainers As UDRP Panel Finds “Laches” Applies - A UDRP decided this past week between the New York Times and Frank Schilling’s Name administration regarding the domain name DealBook.com may have been one of the most important decisions for domain holders, as the panel finally fund that the legal doctrine of latches can apply to domain disputes. The doctrine of laches basically means that someone has to file a timely complaint if they want to object to another parties action We have asked several times why the doctrine of Laches did not apply ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
The Good and Bad of Government Domain Seizures - They serve a purpose but could potentially splinter the web. Over the long holiday weekend the U.S. government seized a number of domain names that were allegedly being used for piracy. Both Michael Berkens and Elliot Silver have given their thoughts on the seizures. They had somewhat different opinions. And I agree with both. I tend to agree with Elliot that there’s not much for the typical domain name owner to worry about. If you’re not doing anything illegal ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Olympics Threaten to Sue ICANN. Who Missed a Meeting? - Olympics say they’ll sue ICANN, but they were supposed to meet with ICANN earlier this year to hash our their differences. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has again informed ICANN that it will file a lawsuit if its trademarks are not added to a restrictions list for new domain names and if other protections aren’t instituted. Back in April 2009 the IOC first threatened to sue ICANN over the introduction of new top level domain names. In March of ... read more ...
Sun 28th November 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Are Domain Leasing and Payment Plans Dead In The Wake Of Domain Seizures? - Now that the federal government has gone through its second round of domain seizures, the 1st being in June of this year, the question becomes can domain holders lease or finance the purchase of domains anymore? Over the years we have leased domains, some with an option to purchase and others through a straight lease. Of course we have a written lease agreement we use that attempts to protect us and our domain. The agreement provides that the site won’t be used for anything illegal, will comply ... read more ...
Fri 26th November 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
ThePirateBay.org Appeal Verdict Is In: Less Jail Time; Much More In Fines - A year ago April, the founders of thePirateBay.org were found guilty of copyright infringement and sentenced to jail. Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi and Carl Lundstroem were given jail sentences of one year each by a Stockholm district court and were ordered to to pay compensation and damages of 30 million kronor ($3.6 million). Well they appealed the verdict and the verdict is in. The Swedish Appeal Court has announced its decision: Peter Sunde’s sentence was reduced ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
While You Were Eating Your Turkey, Homeland Security Was Seizing 9 Domains - Several sources are reporting that Homeland Security has seized domain names associated with peer-to-peer file sharing sites and those that allegedly deal in counterfeit goods. The domain was seized without any prior notification to the domain owner and without going through the court system. The seizures were apparently conducted by a  branch of Homeland Security known as ICE. Some of the seized domains include one that was a “search engine” type of site called Torrent-Finder.com, several were ... read more ...
Thu 25th November 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Facebook is Thankful To The Trademark Office As They Get Awarded A Trademark On “Face” - According to TechCrunch.com Facebook.com has been awarded a trademark on the word “Face”. The trademark is for: “usages in “Telecommunication services, namely, providing online chat rooms and electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among computer users in the field of general interest and concerning social and entertainment subject matter, none primarily featuring or relating to motoring or to cars.” We have reported on Facebook is taking legal action for trademark infringement  ... read more ...
Tue 23rd November 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Zuccarini Case Against NameJet, NetSol, et al Moved to Virginia - Court transfers lawsuit to Virginia. In a move that may have been expected by some observers, John Zuccarini’s lawsuit against NameJet, Network Solutions, eNom, and VeriSign has been transferred to the Eastern District of Virginia. The case stems from some of John Zuccarini’s domain names that were transferred to a receiver after a cybersquatting judgment against him. The receiver let some of the domain names expire and they were subsequently auctioned off on ... read more ...
Mon 22nd November 2010
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Schilling Beats New York Times in Landmark UDRP - Frank Schilling beats media behemoth; panel decision could be important. Frank Schilling’s Name Administration has won a case against the New York Times Company over the domain name DealBook.com. But it’s more than a victory; the National Arbitration Forum panel also addressed an issue that most other panels have dismissed: doctrine of laches. As described by the panel, “Laches is an equitable doctrine that may provide a defense when an adverse party has unreasonably ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Fox Loses Free Speech Trademark Battle with DISH Network - Fox may be back on the error, but DISH can keep its Fox domain names. Dish Network and News Corporation’s Fox Networks may have settled their contract dispute, but there was still an outstanding issue over some domain names. In this battle, DISH Network won. After Fox pulled some of its channels from DISH Network this fall, DISH registered a number of domain names to bring attention to the issue: foxshakedowndish.com weofferedfoxafairdeal.com foxrefused.com jointhefightagainstfox.com Fox ... read more ...
Thu 18th November 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Senate Panel Pass Law Allowing Seizure of Domain Names - The bill entitled: “Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act” sponsored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) passed a US Senate panel this morning by a 19-0 vote. Such organizations such as Electronic Frontier Foundation eBay, Amazon.com, Bloomberg, Google and Wikipedia were against the bill and warned that the bill would give federal law enforcement too much power to police infringing activity. The measure, approved by the Senate panel in a 19-0 vote, The bill was promoted to protect movies, ... read more ...
 
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Federal Court Awards Domain Holder Common Law Trademark Right & Orders Registrar To Return Domains - In what could be one of the most important legal decisions of the year for domain holders, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that a domainer hold acquired common-law trademark rights by simple ownership and usage in domain names he owned, even though they corresponded to well-known trademarked  brand names. The ruling for domain holders is a result of  a default judgment. Here’s the deal. According to the complaint: Warren Weitzman, is a domainer who owns and parks ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Facebook and American Farm Bureau Still Haven’t Settled over FB - FB trademark still an open issue between parties. Facebook bought the domain name FB.com from American Farm Bureau. But unlike what Mark Zuckerberg told the audience Monday when launching the social network’s new messaging system, the two parties haven’t settled an ongoing trademark dispute. During Monday’s launch Zuckerberg said: “The farm bureau has agreed to give us FB.com and we in return have agreed to not sell Farm subsidies.” Not according to ... read more ...
Tue 16th November 2010
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Arbitration Panel Finds in Favor of eRestaurant.com Owner - Domain theft and now a UDRP. Defending a good domain name isn’t easy. A domain name owner who has already gone through the hassle of having his domain name stolen has now succeeded in winning a UDRP to keep the domain name. Altametrics, Inc filed the case against Ryan Sveinsvoll, who owns the eRestaurant.com domain name. The history of the domain name is interesting. Sveinsvoll appears to have purchased the domain name in 2003 and it was then hijacked in 2008. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Is ICANN’s 3 Strikes Loophole on Purpose? - ICANN’s three strikes rule is so full of holes that you have to wonder if the holes are on purpose. One of the major changes to the so-called “Proposed Final” applicant guidebook is a definition of what a pattern of “bad faith in regard to domain name registrations” is. Applicants that have shown this bad faith pattern are barred from applying. The new rule slipped into the latest version: if you have three or more UDRP, ACPA, or other equivalent legislation ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
What in a World Will ICANN Do with $100 Million Cash Next Year? - Can ICANN handle 9 figures of cash? $185,000 per application. Let’s say 550 applications for new to level domain names. That’s $101.75 million in cash coming in ICANN’s door next year. That’s a lot of money. What will it do with the cash that it doesn’t immediately spend on application processing? How much of this will now be considered “cost recovery”? How much will be reserved for resulting lawsuits? Don’t get me wrong, I think it should cost ... read more ...
Mon 15th November 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Jobs and .XXX Opponents Should Just Give it Up - Opponents of two top level domain names are fighting a losing battle. As the introduction of new top level domain names looms, two groups are still fighting over TLDs that have been in the funnel for quite some time. First, there’s .jobs. It has been an actual sTLD for some time, but the registry recently decided to liberalize registration rules for the domains. This has the online job board community in a tizzy as many of them worry about new competition as well ... read more ...