Tag Archives: legal

Tue 4th May 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
SnapNames and Oversee.net Sue Nelson Brady aka Halvarez - Here are some of the ones he won – themexp $534.00 halvarez 7/25/2009 yotutube $2.000.00 halvarez 7/19/2009 yountube $279.00 halvarez 7/19/2009 footcomfort $801.00 halvarez 7/16/2009 huffingpost $425.00 halvarez 7/15/2009 torrentlocomotive $302.00 halvarez 7/14/2009 arcadevault $585.00 halvarez 7/12/2009 commonlawvenue $279.00 halvarez 6/12/2009 catchclub $425.00 halvarez 6/10/2009 proactivsolutions $2.000.00 halvarez 6/1/2009 everydadsnightmare $927.00 halvarez 5/26/2009 winantispyware ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Inside Oversee.net v. Howard Nelson Brady, Jr. - Lawsuit sheds more light on bidding scandal. Earlier today SnapNames and parent company Oversee.net filed a lawsuit against former employee Howard Nelson Brady, Jr. for his alleged scheme of shill bidding and embezzlement. Much has already been disclosed about Brady’s alleged conduct, but the lawsuit (pdf) provides more details of his alleged deceit. The suit cites a number of examples of how he tried to dupe other SnapNames employees into thinking that Hank Alvarez ... read more ...
Mon 3rd May 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
French Fashion House Loses Case for Guy’s Nickname Domain Name - Designer can’t have Sandro.com domain name. I’m so angry about losing this case! French apparel designer Sandro Andy has lost a domain name dispute to get the domain name Sandro.com. The company will have to stick with its current Sandro-Paris.com domain name. The company the complaint with World Intellectual Property Organization against Alessandro Balzarin of Frankentahl, Germany. Balzarin registered the domain name way back in 1997 because Sandro is a common ... read more ...
Fri 30th April 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
A UDRP First? Case Filed Against Directory on a Domain Name - As if a flimsy trademark wasn’t enough… It’s bad enough that Romantic Tours, Inc. has convinced three panels to hand over domain names based on its trademark for “Hot Russian Brides”. Now the company has gone too far: it tried to get a domain name based on a directory on the web site. Romantic Tours, Inc. filed the case against the owner of JimsLists.com. The reason? One of the directories on his site is called /hotrussianbrides. Specifically, the company ... read more ...
Thu 29th April 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Rosetta Stone Suit Against Google For Selling Trademark Keywords is Thrown Out - A federal judge dismissed a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by  Rosetta Stone Inc against Google back in July 2009, for selling keywords containing its trademark. Rosetta complained that consumers who search for “Rosetta Stone” on Google could click on a “sponsored ad” and visit the site of “a software pirate that purports to be Rosetta, but in reality sells a sub-standard product.” Rosetta, said it had hoped for a full jury trial, and may appeal to a higher court. But for now ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
New Developments in Sex.com Case - More fighting between Sex.com owners. It’s a business relationship gone sour, and it doesn’t look to be getting any better. Here’s a recap in the case of Sex.com owner Escom, LLC, as well as the latest developments in this soap opera. To recap: -First, one of the company’s creditors, DOM Partners, pushed the company’s main asset, Sex.com, into a foreclosure auction. -The day before the auction was to take place, three entities controlled by Mike Mann filed ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Manny Ramirez Asks Arbitrator for His (Domain) Name - Former agent let domain name expire, now Manny Ramirez wants it back. Los Angeles Dodgers left fielder Manny Ramirez has filed a complaint with National Arbitration Forum in an effort to get the domain name MannyRamirez.com. It appears the domain name was registered in his former agent’s name and expired after he fired that agent. In early 2009 it was registered to Legacy Sports Group, LLC. But Ramirez had fired his agent at Legacy Sports Group in 2008. Robert ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Company Wants to Patent Error-Redirect Pages - Patent application might step on a few toes. It’s one of the most controversial practices undertaken by internet service providers. Now Hostway Corporation wants to patent it. The company has filed a patent application (pdf) for “System and Method for Controlling Non-Existing Domain Traffic”. Non-existing domain traffic is when you type a domain name into your browser that doesn’t exist. Depending on your ISP, you might end up seeing a parked page instead ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN May Seek Contracts with UDRP Providers - No discussion at board meeting, but contractual issue is on the table. What did ICANN discuss about UDRP providers during its board meeting last Thursday? Did it discuss Czech Arbitration Court using “supplemental rules” to change the structure of UDRP, as I predicted? Did it discuss the lack of contracts with UDRP providers? Well, it really didn’t discuss anything. It ran out of time. The “preliminary report” from the meeting states that time constraints ... read more ...
Wed 28th April 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
New York Times Wins Case Against Typosquatter - Media company wins four typo domain names through arbitration. The New York Times Company has won a National Arbitration Forum case for four domain name typos of its NewYorkTimes.com web address. The company filed the case in March to get the domain names newyourktimes.com, newyortimes.com, neyyorktimes.com, and newyoktimes.com. Although the domain names showed different owners, a previous case brought by Microsoft against the same person tied the identity of all ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Who Will Throw Domain Investors Under a Bus? - When will Washington decide to screw domain investors? When the U.S. health care bill passed, one of the provisions that got some attention is a tax on indoor tanning salons. The 10% tax goes into effect in July. When I saw this provision, I realized right away why this particular provision was added. Sure, it raises some money (defrays the cost of the health care bill). And it is somewhat related to health, since tanning can have some negative health consequences. ... read more ...
Tue 27th April 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Hayward Industries Should Have Hired a Domain Attorney - An important lesson in why you need to hire a domain attorney for a domain name case. When a traditional business gets involved in a domain name dispute, it’s normal for them to gravitate toward their usual counsel to handle the case. That’s fine. But the counsel should at least spend a bit of money getting a domain name attorney to help and make sure it’s not making any stupid mistakes. Consider the case of pool company Hayward Industries, which is entangled ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN COO Doug Brent Stepping Down - Doug Brent announces resignation from ICANN. ICANN Chief Operating Officer Doug Brent has announced he’s stepping down at the end of July for personal reasons. Brent joined ICANN in January 2007 in what was then a new role for the organization, and outlines some of the improvements at ICANN since he joined in a blog post. In explaining his departure, Brent writes: While my engagement in the work of ICANN has made this a difficult decision, the reasons I am leaving ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
.XXX? Just Wait Until They Learn About New TLDs - People commenting on .xxx must not be aware of looming new TLDs. I’ve written a couple times about the comment period for what to do with ICM Registry and the .xxx top level domain name. The majority of comments submitted to ICANN are from people opposed to pornography in general. Religious and conservative leaders are calling on others to submit similar comments. Not only is the question ICANN is seeking input on not being answered , but it’s clear that these ... read more ...
Mon 26th April 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
When a Domain Partnership Goes Bad - Sex.com disagreement isn’t sexy, but it is an important warning. If you’ve ever formed a partnership or had a business partner in a venture, you know how contentious it can get. When you draft the legal documents, the lawyer wants a provision for every possible outcome under the sun. Everyone is on good terms at the time, so you don’t suspect there’s any reason for half of the provisions. But when things do go wrong, it can really be a mess. In the case ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
WIPO Panelist Study Sheds More Light on UDRP Practices - WIPO panelist selection numbers are very different from National Arbitration Forum. Why? Attorney Zak Muscovitch released a study last month about distribution of cases to panelists at National Arbitration Forum. His findings were shocking. Not only were there “runaway panelists” who have heard a disproportionate number of cases, but those runaway panelists happen to find in favor of complainants much more than the typical panelist. With the help of UDRPsearch.com, ... read more ...
Sun 25th April 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Board Approves Delegation of Four IDN ccTLDs - Four IDN ccTLDs delegated, simultaneous delegation requests from China and Taiwan proceed. The ICANN Board of Directors approved the delegation of four internationalized domain name country code domains on Thursday. The four approved ccTLDs are for Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. Russia will get .рф (xn--p1ai) (“R.F.”), delegated to Coordination Center for TLD RU. Saudi Arabia is getting السعودية (xn--mgberp4a5d4ar) ... read more ...
Sat 24th April 2010
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
A Porn Star Saves A Guy From Spending 20 Years In Jail: A Cautionary Tale For Those Traveling Out Of The US - We wrote a post a couple of years ago about being careful when traveling back to the US for a trip outside the country. With the TRAFFIC show for Milan coming up next week, I wanted to remind all domainers that they do not have the same rights coming back into the US that they have while in the US. So here is a bedtime story for you. A New Yorker Carlos Simon-Timmerman, was traveling back from Venezuela when he got stopped in customs in Puerto Rico carrying a DVD called “Little Lupe the Innocent; ... read more ...
Fri 23rd April 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
The Limitations of UDRP to Recover Stolen Domain Names - Recent case involving restaurant guide shows limitations of UDRP for recovering stolen domains. Companies often use UDRP to recover stolen domain names. I’ve seen several cases of three character domain names being recovered this way. But there are limitations to using UDRP to recover a stolen domain name. Part of it has to do with how you position your trademark in the filing. Here’s a case in point: ChicagoRestaurant.com. For over ten years David M. Lissner ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Seriously, Wooot a Hell? - Wooot.com case needs proofreading; sheds light on UDRP panelist practices. Yesterday Elliot Silver wrote a post about the UDRP decision for Wooot.com. The panelist found in the complainant’s favor, but ordered the domain name canceled rather than transferred. I have to admit, even as someone who reads a lot of UDRPs, until about a month ago I assumed that canceled meant transfer. Why? Because it’s so stupid to think of a domain being deleted rather than transferred ... read more ...
Thu 22nd April 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Going to Colombia in December - ICANN chooses another controversial location for ICANN meeting. Continuing a theme of holding ICANN meetings in places that members of the Intellectual Property Constituency are too afraid to go, ICANN’s board has approved holding its December meeting in Cartagena, Colombia. As I discussed last month, I’m sure that ICANN didn’t take this decision lightly. It pulled off a successful meeting in Mexico City without much pushback. But its last meeting in Nairobi ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Arbitrator Blasts CitizenHawk for Boilerplate UDRP Filing - Panelist calls out mass UDRP filer for automated case submission. Just how does CitizenHawk file so many UDRP cases? It appears to use an automated UDRP generator or template to quickly file cases. And a panelist with National Arbitration Forum is calling B.S. The case in question is on behalf of CitizenHawk client LetsTalk.com. The company tried to get LetzTalk.com, arguing that it differs by only one letter from its LetsTalk.com mark. But the complaint contained ... read more ...
Wed 21st April 2010
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Barbara Kingsolver Wins Domain Fight, Loser Not Happy - Loser in arbitration case makes his case — publicly. Author Barbara Kingsolver has won a case at National Arbitration Forum for the domain name Kingsolver.com. The soon-to-be-former owner of the domain name is none too pleased. He has posted a tirade about the case at Kingsolver.com (warning: explicit), which will exist until his registrar has to hand the domain name over to Kingsolver on April 29. Kingsolver’s agent forgot to renew the domain name and it was ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Oasis.com: Another Creative Agency Tries to Grab Generic Domain Name - What’s up with online creative agencies? On the one hand, it’s great to see that creative agencies are starting to “get” the importance of having a good, easy-to-remember domain name. There was Media Rain, a Utah digital creative agency that tried to get the domain name Rain.com. Now we can also add Oasis Technology Partners, Inc to the list. The Boston company tried to snag the domain name Oasis.com through UDRP. It too has failed. Oasis Technology ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
$4 Million Spent Lobbying Congress on Domain Names - Companies spend $4 million influencing Capitol Hill. Domain name companies and other companies with an interest in domain name matters spent about $4 million dollars lobbying Congress last year. Using public records filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act, Domain Name Wire has tallied total spending for 2009 by a number of companies. (See spending in the first half of 2009 here.) VeriSign led the pack, spending $2.4 million to influence matters related to Domain ... read more ...