Tag Archives: legal

Thu 27th May 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Owner Caught Fabricating Response in UDRP - Respondent says he met actor in 1999 – 28 years after the actor’s death. When I first saw the domain name Texican.com was in dispute, I thought the domain owner would win. After all, there are plenty of companies and entities that use the name “Texican”, so why should one complainant get the domain unless it was clearly targeted (not that that hasn’t happened before). It’s also a generic slang term. But in this case the respondent would have been better ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Finally, a UDRP Panel Respects a Scope of a Policy - Panel refuses to find in favor of complainant in case outside scope of policy. UDRP was originally created to handle clear cut cases of cybersquatting. Since its launch panelists have stretched the scope of the policy. But a three person panel has injected a breathe of fresh air in the decision of HRCIstudy.com. The domain owner registered the domain name for his business of providing tutoring courses for Human Resource Certification Institute exams. HRCI argued ... read more ...
Wed 26th May 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Nelson Brady Comes Clean in Response to SnapNames Lawsuit - Brady acted alone, says he wanted to generate money for long term health care. Nelson Brady has responded to a lawsuit filed by Oversee.net and SnapNames regarding the company’s bidding scandal. Brady admitted to many of Oversee’s allegations. The response does not implicate any other employees in the scheme, indicating that Brady acted alone and other employees did not know about his activities. Brady admitted that he used the Hank Alvarez (halvarez) account ... read more ...
Tue 25th May 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
WIPO: New Rule: “Domainers Who Use Computer Programs To Register Domains Are Guilty Of Bad Faith” - According to an article in Managing Intellectual Property , Erik Wilbers, the Director of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center,  said: “The Center is close to releasing a new version of its bible for panelists.  The new “2.0″ version will include topics that have emerged in recent years, such as whether domainers who design computer programs to register domains automatically are guilty of bad faith registration and use—a key part of the Policy. “The answer is yes they are guilty,” “It ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Sport Whines Again: Please Don’t Allow .Football! - Group again asks ICANN to not allow any individual sports to get top level domain names. Last August the so-called .Sport Policy Advisory Council (basically a group that wants to launch the .sport top level domain name) told ICANN it was unhappy with the idea that there could be individual sports (such as .baseball) as top level domains. At the time, the .Sport Policy Advisory Council wrote: We cannot accept ICANN approving any applications for top-level domains ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Lawsuit Filed Against Live Current Media CEO and Board Members - Complaint alleges CEO and board members have neglected their duties. In what is the latest in the continuing saga of Live Current Media, its former CEO and other plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit (pdf) against current CEO Geoffrey Hampson and each of the company’s board members. The lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois in the Chancery Division. The suit goes after Hampson for alleged fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, ... read more ...
Mon 24th May 2010
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ICANN Travel Survey – Poll FAIL - ICANN wants your feedback on international meetings, but it won’t be easy. ICANN is kicking off its “Meetings for the Next Decade” consultation process to figure out how to handle its international meetings. ICANN has been criticized for its large travel budget for many years. I remember at DOMAINfest last year Steve Wozniak joking about when he was asked to join the ICANN board, and how he viewed it as just a way to take some free vacations during the year. ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
DotAsia Asks for Fee Discount from ICANN - DotAsia joins the sTLD fee reduction bandwagon. DotAsia Organisation Ltd., which operates the .asia top level domain name, has requested that ICANN lower the fees DotAsia pays to ICANN. DotAsia, a non-profit organization, currently pays a variable fee of 75 cents per domain name registered. It is requesting a 33% decrease to 50 cents per domain name. In requesting the fee reduction, DotAsia writes: A lower fee would enable DotAsia to invest further into meaningful ... read more ...
 
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Atheist Richard Dawkins Wins Domain Name Case - Author and scholar wins domain name case. Well-known atheist Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, has won the domain name RichardDawkins.com through an arbitration case at National Arbitration Forum. Dawkins’ main web site is RichardDawkins.net. The owner of RichardDawkins.com claimed that he was using the domain name merely as a fan site for Dawkins. There were affiliate links on the web site that linked to various products related to Dawkins, but the ... read more ...
Fri 21st May 2010
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Breaking: Sedo to Sell Sex.com Domain Name - Settlement paves way for Sex.com domain name sale. The managers of Escom, LLC, which owns the Sex.com domain name, have agreed to enter into an agreement with Sedo to sell the domain name. Terms of the brokerage agreement are confidential. The agreement to retain Sedo to sell the domain name comes after a settlement between a number of the creditors to Escom. Originally, creditor DOM Partners pushed the Sex.com domain name into foreclosure and scheduled an auction ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Internet Brands Inc. Sued Over Acquisition Earnout - Plaintiffs allege company withheld payments from 2008 acquisition. Internet Brands, Inc., which owns Autos.com and Loan.com, has been sued (pdf) by two people who sold the web site ModelMayhem.com to it in 2008. Although Internet Brands has not yet responded to the suit, it’s a reminder of the challenges of selling domain names or web sites with “earnout” or residual terms on future revenue or traffic. Donald and Tyler Waitt sold their popular Model Mayhem ... read more ...
Thu 20th May 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
WSJ: Microsoft Files “Click Laundering” Suits Against “Shady Sites Known As Parked Domains” - Well we have all heard of click fraud but we have a  new term to deal with as of today. According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft filed two lawsuits for  “Click Laundering”, on Monday in federal court in Seattle against Eric C. Ralls and the company he founded, RedOrbit Inc., a Dallas science news and shopping site, plus 20 unnamed defendants (Johe Doe’s). Microsoft claims RedOrbit engaged in “click laundering,” a term for making bogus clicks on third-party sites look like legitimate ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
dotSPORT Continues the Trademark Frontrunning - Company tries to get leg up in new TLD process with trademarks. I’ve written a couple times about prospective new top level domain applicants trying to trademark the names of their proposed TLD (e.g. .eco). But it appears dotSport LLC, one of the companies going after what will likely be a competition for .sport, is being quite aggressive. According to filings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the company has tried to register DotSport, RegistryDotSport, ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Forget .Me, How About .Ego? - Entrepreneur kicks around idea for .ego top level domain name. Got a big ego? You might be able to pick up YourName.ego once new top level domain names are released. A Florida man has filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for “.ego” for “Extension of domain names for identification of personal users on a global computer network”. I contacted David Ways today to see what his plans are for the domain name. “.Ego encompasses ... read more ...
Tue 18th May 2010
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How ICANN Plans to Spend $60 Million of Your Money This Year - New TLDs are top budget item — but also the only line item to decrease. If you’re reading this blog, you are probably one of the many people that funds ICANN’s operations. You pay the registrar, which in turn pays ICANN and the registry. The registry also pays ICANN. In short, without domain registrants, ICANN has very little money. So how ICANN spends its money should be important to you. The non-profit has released its draft proposed 2011 financial year ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Jaegermeister Bombs Shot Cup Seller - Company shuts down web site of specialized “shot cup” seller. You can say goodbye to Jager Bomb Shot Cups. Well, at least you’ll no longer be able to buy them at Jager-Bomb.com. Mast-Jaegermeister AG, known for its strong liqueur, filed a complaint against the owner of Jager-Bomb.com with National Arbitration Forum. As it turns out, Jaegermesiter has trademarks for the term “Jager Bomb”. As early as 2002, consumers began to mix a cocktail drink called ... read more ...
Mon 17th May 2010
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Magic Bra Gets Stuffed in Domain Name Dispute - Bra company fails in domain dispute. A H Sportswear Co., Inc., which holds two trademarks for “Magic Bra”, has lost a UDRP case for the domain name MagicBra.com. The domain name was registered by Hu Yanlin of Beijing in 2001 and he says was never aware of A H Sportswear’s marks. He also said the term was descriptive in nature: The Respondent submits that the term “magic bra” is a descriptive term which not only refers to a brassiere which will make ... read more ...
Sat 15th May 2010
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ICANN Draft Advisory Could Put Chill on Domain Proxy Services - Draft advisory is a stark reminder of the legal liabilities and limitations of domain proxy services. I’ve argued before that providing whois proxy service (commonly referred to as whois privacy, although technically they are different) isn’t free. A big reason is legal repercussions of serving as a proxy. Technically, a proxy service is the registrant of the domain name and the service merely “licenses” it to the person who actually wanted to register ... read more ...
Wed 12th May 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.Arab: “Sorry We’re Late, Please Change a Rules” - Another group asks for special consideration in new gTLD process. Now that three versions of the Draft Applicant Guidebook for new top level domain names have been released, a group backing .arab is asking ICANN to make special accommodations for it. In a letter dated May 4, International Telecommunication Union informs ICANN that it has been appointed by the League of Arab States (LAS) to help establish the .arab TLD and corresponding IDN gTLD. The letter asks ... read more ...
Tue 11th May 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Facebook Fights for Facebook.me Domain Name - Facebook files for arbitration to get Facebook.me domain name. Facebook has filed a complaint with World Intellectual Property Organization to get the domain name Facebook.me. The domain name is currently registered to a United Arab Emirates man. .Me is technically the country code domain name for Montenegro, but has been commercialized to be a personalized “me” domain name. This isn’t the first country code domain name the social networking behemoth has ... read more ...
Fri 7th May 2010
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Another UDRP Panelist Considers Domain Valuation in Decision - UDRP panelists consider asking prices in decisions. In a highly publicized domain dispute for Hayward.com, a UDRP panelist decided he was an expert at domain valuation and that the price the domain owner wanted for the domain was too high for a city .com., indicating that he must have been targeting the complainant. Now we have another case where a panelist uses the respondent’s asking price in considering the case. Thankfully, the panelist still denied the transfer. In ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Religious Group: Pray for Rod Beckstrom, Kill Porn Domain - Comment period for .xxx is getting out of control At first it was silly. Then it got annoying. Now it’s ridiculous. The comment period for what ICANN should do about an independent review board’s finding in favor of ICM Registry to operate .xxx has become a mockery. You can mostly thank conservative organizations for creating robo forms for their constituents to send mindless comments. If you see a comment like this: I support Option #3 of the March 26, 2010 ... read more ...
Thu 6th May 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Nelson Brady Will Speak, But What Will He Say? - Expect to hear his side of the story within 30 days. By filing suit against former employee Nelson Brady this week, Oversee.net and Snapnames hope to accomplish a couple things. Yes, it wants to get some of its money back. But more importantly, it wants to clear its name. Ever since the scandal broke last year, conspiracy theorists have suggested that the company was complicit in what happened and that’s why it wasn’t going after Brady. In reality, it was ... read more ...
Wed 5th May 2010
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Rachael Ray Wants to Fry Some Typosquatters - Celebrity chef files claims to get two typo domain names. Celebrity chef Rachael Ray has filed two separate domain name disputes with National Arbitration Forum for typos of her domain name. Rachelray.com, which omits the second ‘a’ in her first name, and Rachealray.com, which transposes the ‘e’ and ‘a’, both redirect to freegifster.com. Visitors to the landing page at freegifster.com are offered a “free” 14 piece cookset. The landing page also shows ... read more ...
Tue 4th May 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Oversee Files Suit Against Nelson Brady (Halvarez) For $33 Million Dollars - In a statement just released buy Oversee.net, they have filed suit against after Nelson Brady, otherwise known as Hank Alvarez, seeking damages in excess of $33 million dollars. Here is the official statement from Oversee: “SnapNames, and its parent company, Oversee.net, have filed suit against Nelson Brady in federal court in Oregon.” “Brady is a former employee who, under the false name “Hank Alvarez,” improperly bid in certain SnapNames auctions.  In some cases, Brady also embezzled ... read more ...