Tag Archives: legal

Sun 22nd November 2009
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
UK Bill Would Regulate Domain Name Registries - Bill probably meant to regulate .uk but could ensnare .tel. A bill introduced in the United Kingdom Parliament would have potentially adverse effects on domain name registries operating out of the United Kingdom. The Digital Economy Bill includes clauses that would allow the government to essentially nationalize a domain name registry that met certain qualifications of “failing”. Although the bill was probably meant to target .uk registry Nominet, it was written ... read more ...
Sat 21st November 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
The Government Goes To Registrars To Asking Them To “Teminate” Domain Registrations - The Federal Drug Administration  (FDA) send out a “warning letter” this week to 22 companies that operate 136 sit”that appeared to be illegally selling drugs to American consumers.” However even through its was labeled as “warning letter”, the FDA also went to the service providers of the sites  and registrars of the domain names subject to the warning letter and told them “that the site illegal activities may give them grounds to terminate service to their customers.” And according ... read more ...
Fri 20th November 2009
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Project.me Domain Dispute Sets Dangerous Precedent - by Karen Bernstein Have UDRP panels gone too far by setting a new standard for determining the identical or confusingly similar element in domain disputes? In his November 13 article, Andrew Allemann reported a WIPO decision denying transfer of Project.Me (project.me GmbH v. Lin, Case No. DME2009-0008 (WIPO Nov. 11, 2009)). This article picks up where he left off. In Lin, an Iphone app developer who owns a German trademark registration for PROJECT ME brought a ... read more ...
Thu 19th November 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Breaking News: SnapNames/Oversee Revises & Restates Release To Limit It Just To Halvarez - After much discussion and criticism last week Oversee/SnapNames.com announced today that it has revised and restated the release they are requiring those wanting to accept the settlement for the bidding activities of the bidder Halvarez to sign. As we have discussed here we thought the release was overly broad and the literally reading would release Oversee and Snapnames from all and any liability for any activity on SnapNames related or not related to the bidder Halvarez which was the bidder ID ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Apple Belatedly Gets iPodNano.com Domain Name - Better late than never, Apple gets iPodNano.com domain name. It took about four years, but Apple has finally gotten its hands on the iPodNano.com domain name. Apple filed for arbitration with National Arbitration Forum to get the domain name. The owner of the domain name, Fusion Media Ltd., did not respond to the complaint and the arbitrator found in Apple’s favor. Fusion Media registered the domain name in September 5, 2005, two days before Apple officially introduced ... read more ...
Wed 18th November 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Without a Trademark, WIPO Awards Domains In A Decision That Should Worry “Government” Domain Holders - This is a a one panel WIPO decision that’s maybe troubling for any one owning a domain related to a governmental entity or governmental function. This case involved several domains containing “811″ combined with a state. The domains at issue were: alabama811.com, al811.com, la811.com, louisiana811.com, tennessee811.com, tenn811.com, and tn811.com 811 was set up by the FCC in March 2005 to as the national abbreviated “One Call” dialing code for providing advance notice of excavation activities ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Messer Defends Descriptive StreetPrice.com Domain Name - Seller of Vodka.com wins UDRP case over StreetPrice.com. Roy Messer, perhaps best known in domain circles for selling Vodka.com for $3 million, has successfully defended an attack on his StreetPrice.com domain name. Messer was represented by domain attorney Ari Goldberger. The complaint was brought by the web site StreetPrices.com, a price comparison web site launched in 1997. Messer registered the StreetPrice.com domain name in 1998. The panel found that the Messer ... read more ...
Tue 17th November 2009
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Canadian Input About .Bank Shows Complications of International Internet - Canadian regulator questions .bank top level domain name. There are many challenges to introducing new top level domain names. International norms certainly play a part, such as issues over morality. But who would have thought .bank would create controversy, especially from from a bank regulator? For background, a group of financial organizations has suggested that a .bank top level domain name might help reduce phishing and instill confidence. Only real banks that ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Pssst. No One Cares About a Domain Industry. - Let’s kill the hubris. Hey, I’ve got a little secret for you: no one gives a crap about the domain name industry. It’s small potatoes. It’s a speck on a fly. It’s nothing. And people don’t like it, too. I personally think the domain industry is great and incredibly important. But the fact remains that most people outside our industry don’t care or know about it. We’re tiny. And if they know about it, they certainly don’t care for domainers. I ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Jury Trial Date Set in Thought Convergence v. Jay Westerdal - Date set for trial over troubled acquisition. A jury trial date of April 6, 2010 has been set for the lawsuit between Thought Convergence and Jay Westerdal et al. Thought Convergence (TCI) filed the lawsuit against Westerdal on May 1 over TCI’s purchase of Westerdal’s company Name Intelligence. Name Intelligence is best known for its DomainTools web site, but it also owns web hosting company Spry. In the suit, TCI claimed alleged breach of securities exchange ... read more ...
Mon 16th November 2009
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Cheech and Chong Smoke Out Domain Name - Domain owner: pack that in your pipe and smoke it! Comedy duo Cheech Chong have won rights to the CheechandChong.com domain name through arbitration at World Intellectual Property Organization. Did you ever think you’d see “Cheech Chong” and WIPO in the same sentence? I first wrote about this story back in September, predicting that the comedians would win the case. But it wasn’t as clear cut as I originally thought. As it turns out, Cheech Chong first ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
New Jersey Indicts Alleged Domain Thief - New Jersey hands down first every indictment for domain theft. New Jersey today handed down an indictment (pdf) against Daniel Goncalves, alleged thief of the P2P.com domain name. The Division of Criminal Justice Major Crimes/Computer Analysis Technology Unit obtained a seven-count state grand jury indictment for theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, computer theft, and identity theft, all in the second degree, and three counts of fourth-degree falsifying ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Rate of Domain Cybersquatting Hits All Time Low - Rate of cybersquatting continues decline. The rate of cybersquatting, as measured by arbitration filings under Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy, has hit an all time low. A Domain Name Wire analysis of UDRP filings dating back to 2000, the first year UDRP was widely used, showed marked declines. UDRP filings were compared to the total number of .com domain names in existence each year to calculate an effective rate of cybersquatting. Although .com domain names ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Linking Automated UDRP Filers CitizenHawk and Alias Encore - CitizenHawk founder created competing firm for typosquatting recovery. This morning I was reading a couple articles about FreeCreditReport.com’s win of over 1,000 domains in a single UDRP. (See DNW’s story here.) I was going to write a post about how so many blogs get information wrong, spreading falsities. These aren’t willful, but still hurt companies. In this case, I was reading an article at one of AOL’s blogs that said the company behind the cybersquatting, ... read more ...
Sun 15th November 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
GoDaddy Can Now Incorporate Your Company - Domain registrar Go Daddy rolled out a new product this week providing businesses incorporation services for both corporations and LLC’s.in all 50 states Like many online incorporation sites, Godaddy asks some basic questions, and then files the necessary paperwork on behalf of the applicant and send the the filed incorporation documents to the applicant within a few weeks. Bob Parsons, Go Daddy CEO and founder. “Go Daddy wanted to help make the whole incorporation process affordable and painless, ... read more ...
Fri 13th November 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Attempted Domain Theft By Trademark Fails In WIPO: Project.me - A German company missing the landrush for the domain project.me goes out after the landrush and registers a trademark on the term in Germany and then files a WIPO complaint against the domainer that grabbed the .me domain during the landrush. Welcome to trademark abuse. So with a ton of new extensions coming on the horizon this is an important case. The three member panel found in favor of the domain holder, despite the domain being parked, with a “for sale” link, and despite the domain holder ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Prank Dialer Gets Rick Rolled in Domain Name Dispute - Prank dialing services fight it out in UDRP. After starting prank dialing service PrankDial.com, Fahim Saleh was a little miffed that another site called PrankDialer.com came along. So he filed for domain arbitration against PrankDialer.com owner Trey Glauser, who also has a handful of similar domains. Saleh’s argument for trademark rights to PrankDial.com were rather weak, and the common term certainly wouldn’t hold weight against PrankDialer.com. The arbitrator ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
iPhone App Developer Loses .Me Domain Dispute - Project.me (the company) fails to capture project.me domain name. Here’s a follow up to a story back in September — iPhone App developer Project.me has lost its attempt to get the domain name Project.me through domain arbitration. After failing to acquire the domain name from its owner, the company filed a complaint with World Intellectual Property Organization, arguing that the Project.me domain name infringed on its applied-for project.me trademark. The three ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
FreeCreditReport.com Wins 1,017 Domains in Single Arbitration - Hi, This is funny…when thid article came out a day ago: Interesting… FTC Cracking Down On The Not So Free Credit Reports Quote: The US Government and the Federal Trade Commission are cracking down on the not so free credit report services. New rules and possible legislation are currently being worked on to prevent consumers from being misled into paying for a service they can get for free. In 2003, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act was passed by Congress. This act allowed ... read more ...
Thu 12th November 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
The Hypocrisy of a Kentucky Gambling Domain Seizure Hits A New Note: TwinSpires To Buy YouBet.com - The continuing saga of the Commonwealth of Kentucky seizure of 141 domain names related to online gambling took an interesting turn today. The action of Kentucky was protectionist as online betting is legal in Kentucky through Churchill Downs Incorporated, a public company with the stock symbol of CHDN, and its online betting service at TwinsSpires.com In releasing its earning yesterday the company said about its online gambling business: “””The Company’s Online Business continued to grow ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Coming Soon: File a UDRP Domain Name Dispute for $250 - Arbitration provider wants to offer $250 expedited UDRPs. [Update: The 250 fee is actually in Euros, and is the panelist’s fee. CAC will also collect a 250 EUR fee, making the minimum fee 500 EUR]. Earlier this month I reported on WIPO’s plans to introduce a fast-track UDRP proceeding. It would cost less and be decided faster than traditional UDRPs. At the time, I predicted that WIPO’s competitors would follow suit because of venue shopping. It looks like ... read more ...
Tue 10th November 2009
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
MediaWhiz Nailed for Reverse Domain Name Hijacking - Online advertising company loses case and is reprimanded by arbitrator. New York based online advertising company MediaWhiz has been found guilty of attempted reverse domain name hijacking of the MediaWiz.biz domain name. MediaWhiz’s arbitration case was doomed from the start based on the date of its trademark and when the MediaWiz.biz domain was registered. The company was awarded a trademark in 2006, claiming first use in 2002. Not only was it for only a graphical ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
20 Years Later, Janet Jackson Gets Rhythm Nation Domain Name - Janet Jackson wins domain name at arbitration. You can excuse Janet Jackson for not registering the RhythmNation1814.com domain name when she originally released her hit album. After all, it was 1989 when Jackson released the album with #1 hits “Miss You Much” and “Escapade”. Domain names weren’t on top of most peoples’ minds back then. Nonetheless, Jackson’s company probably should have thought to register the domain before the current registrant ... read more ...
Mon 9th November 2009
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
First Class Action Filed Against OverSee Today - A class action lawsuit was filed today in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court by an attorney who also seems to be the plaintiff. The suit was filed on behalf of lead Plaintiff Carlos A. Cueto who says he participated in online auctions for domain names at SnapNames.Com, Inc. The complaint alleges that , a former vice-president of SnapNames., Nelson Brady  secretly bid on fifty thousand domain name auctions over the past four years, driving up costs for other bidders. It is alleged that the company executive ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
ICANN Board to Consider “Expressions of Interest” for New TLDs during Dec Meeting - “Pre-application” topic to be on agenda at December meeting. The ICANN Board has instructed ICANN staff to prepare a report about accepting pre-applications or “expressions of interest” for new top level domain names. The board requested the staff to …study the potential impact of a call for formal “expressions of interest,” and provide a plan for Board consideration at ICANN’s next Board meeting, in December 2009. The plan should include possible ... read more ...