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Domain Name Misappropriation Case Set for Trial in the Western District
2008-05-06 06:24:00 The case between a Seattle law firm and its Web development vendor goes to jury trial on May 21. STL readers may recall that the Seattle-based law firm The Christensen Firm sued Chameleon Data Corp. and its president, Derek Dohn, on the ground that defendants allegedly transferred ownership of plaintiff’s four domain names (thechristensenfirm.com, thechristensenfirm.net, christensenfirm.com, and cc-lawfirm.com) to themselves without plaintiff’s authorization, and shut down email service to addresses associated with plaintiff’s primary domain name, cc-lawfirm.com, in order to get leverage over plaintiff in a dispute over the defendants’ bill.This interesting dispute became less of a trademark case on Jan. 18, when Judge Zilly dismissed plaintiff’s Lanham Act and Washington State cybersquatting claims on the basis that the plaintiff’s marks were either generic (cc-lawfirm) or descriptive (The Ch...
A cybersquatting revolutionist
2008-04-27 00:19:00 A spanish blogger-turned cybersquatter is holding the Spanish government to ransom by refusing to give up the domain names of several newly created ministries. The anonymous blogger purchased the domain names after it was announced that the Socialist Primer Minister Jose Luis Zapatero was creating four new ministries - except everyone in the government forgot to ...
Class Action Trademark and Anti-Cybersquatting Lawsuit Against Google and D
2008-04-15 00:00:00 Posted by Sarah Bird, Esquire May It Please the Mozzers, According to Google, its Adsense program for domains "allows domain name registrars and large domain name holders to unlock the value in their parked page inventory." After a ruling by the Northern District of Illinois a few weeks ago, Adsense may also allow plaintiffs’ attorneys ...
Protecting Your Domain Name: Understanding the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer
2008-03-14 21:40:00 Despite the simple functionality on many levels of a domain name, it is vital to the success of an online business enterprise. At its heart, a domain name essentially is an address that tells a user of the Internet how to find a particular website. In many instances, the owners of trade or service marks ...
Kiwi stops cybersquatting for fear of God
2008-03-09 17:18:00 Jeff Twigge, a New Zealand cybersquatter gave up the practice after reading “a passage in 1 Corinthians, chapter 6, from the Bible (King James version). ‘Extortioners’̶-1;. Previously he believed he was being a bit of a modern day Robin Hood. Twigge has since stopped his practice of buying and selling domain names because he feels his ...
Western District Refuses to Reconsider Dimissal of Cybersquatting Claim
2008-02-21 02:35:00 As discussed on Feb. 14, The Christensen Firm moved the Western District to reconsider its summary judgment dismissal of the firm’s cybersquatting and Consumer Protection Act claims against its Web site development vendor, Chameleon Data Corp., and its president, Derek Dohn. In doing so, plaintiff argued it was “manifest error” for the court to find the marks contained in the domain names defendants allegedly transferred to themselves without plaintiff’s authorization “were either generic (cc-lawfirm) or descriptive (The Christensen Firm).”Today, the court denied plaintiff’s motion. In a minute order issued by the clerk, the court found:“Plaintiff’s- motion simply rehashes arguments already made and rejected by the Court. The Court, however, will take this opportunity to clarify that, although it continues to hold the mark ‘cc-lawfirm’ is generic, it would reach the same conclusion concerning p...
Western District Dismisses Law Firm's Cybersquatting Claim Against Vendor
2008-02-15 05:08:00 Seattle-based solo law firm The Christensen Firm claims it’s having trouble with its Web development vendor. Last March, if filed suit in King County Superior Court against Chameleon Data Corp. and its president, Derek Dohn, on the alleged ground that defendants transferred&nbs-p;ownership of plaintiff’s four domain names (thechristensenfirm.com, thechristensenfirm.net, christensenfirm.com, and cc-lawfirm.com) to themselves without plaintiff’s authorization, and shut down email service to addresses associated with plaintiff’s primary domain name, cc-lawfirm.com. Plaintiff- claims defendants did so to obtain leverage in the parties’ dispute over the defendants’ bill. Defendants subsequently removed the case to the Western District.On Jan. 31, Judge Thomas Zilly granted defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s cybersquatting and Consumer Protection Act claims on summary...
One Way To Stop Cybersquatting
2008-02-11 00:17:00 Adam Senour had an excellent blog post yesterday on cybersquatting. The sad thing about this practice is that, in a lot of cases, it is preventable. Probably in just as many, it isn’t. But Adam admits that he himself has allowed his domains to expire and fall victim to cybersquatting. The registrants who take these ...
The grey line between Cybersquatting and Domaining
2008-02-05 11:55:00 Traverse legal recently dissected a post made by the Domain Kid which basically described a domainer as someone who tends to practice cybersquatting. The original post by the Domain kid is most likely written with the aim of drawing in a bit of comment and link love by being humorous and witty. That is expected from a ...
Network Solutions Reportedly Monitors Domain Name Availability Searches
2008-01-24 07:54:00 I’m a faithful “lurker” in the International Trademark Association’s listserve. I’ve found my passive participation pays off, since there often is a quality tip or issue for discussion. Recent days have been no exception. On Jan. 9, the talk turned to Network Solutions (STL’s domain name registrar). The listservers say the registrar keeps track of name availability searches conducted on its site. The company then reserves the requested domain name for up to five days if the user does not register the domain name during that session. Future availability searches -;with other domain name registrars list the domain name is unavailable. If the searcher (or anyone else) returns to Network Solutions, however, the domain name is listed as being available for registration. Worse still, word is that “reserved” domain names may be identified as being sought after,...
Laches Bars Infringement Suit by Wailers (Tacoma) Against Wailers (Jamaica)
2008-01-04 04:32:00 STL readers will recall that the Wailers rock and roll band from Tacoma brought suit in June against the Wailers reggae band from Jamaica for trademark infringement, dilution, unfair competition, and cybersquatting, based on plaintiffs’ WAILERS registered trademark. Yesterday, Western District Judge Ronald Leighton found that plaintiffs filed their suit after the analogous statute of limitations had expired and, therefore, granted summary judgment in favor of defendants based on laches.The court found: “Defendants stress that Plaintiffs were aware Defendants were calling themselves the ‘Wailers’ since the mid to late 1970s, when they were asked about their relationship to Bob Marley. Plaintiffs argue, without legal or logical support, that there is some meaningful difference between the names ‘Wailers’ (standing alone) and ‘Wailers’ in the context of ‘Bob Marley and the Wailers.’ They clai...
Bentley Motors Obtains Stipulated Transfer of Domain Names
2007-12-21 02:29:00 In September, Bentley Motors Limited Corp. brought an in rem action in the Western District against the domain names BentleyUSA.com and BentleyOnline.com, which Bentley claimed contained its registered trademark. Bentley’s cybersquatting complaint alleged that the registrant, David Hill, does not use the domain names in connection with an active, bona fide Web site; Mr. Hill repeatedly offered to sell the domain names to Bentley for more than $30,000, saying it was “logical” for Bentley to own them; and he claimed he had intercepted “hundreds of emails” intended for Bentley, including emails containing “very sensitive information in relation to profits, sales numbers, and build costs.” The complaint sought to have the domain names transferred to Bentley.Bentley brought suit in the Western District in rem because Mr. Hill resides outside of the United States and because the registrar, eNom, Inc., r...
Striking Writers Chide Producers with Protest Web Site
2007-12-12 03:20:00 The Los Angeles Times today reported that Hollywood’s striking writers have acquired the amptp.com and amptp.net domain names and launched a Web site that protests the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the studios in the parties’ labor dispute. AMPTP’s official site is associated with amptp.org.The story begins with the observation: “When the Hollywood studios say they don’t know enough about the Internet to pay writers what they seek for the streaming and downloading of their shows, they might not be kidding.”The protest site, which looks like the producers’ official site, states the Alliance was “heartbroken” that negotiations with the writers had failed “despite our best efforts, including sending them a muffin basket, making them a mixed CD and standing outside their window with a boombox blasting Peter Gabriel songs.” It also features lin...
Western District Awards Maximum Statutory Damages in Cybersquatting Case
2007-12-05 03:04:00 The Western District today entered its Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in the Lahoti v. Vericheck, Inc., cybersquatting case. As STL discussed here, plaintiff David Lahoti filed a declaratory judgment action challenging the National Arbitration Forum’s UDRP order that his domain name, vericheck.com, be transferred to Vericheck, and finding that his registration does not violate the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. Vericheck counterclaimed for cybersquatting, trademark infringement, and violation of Washington’s Consumer Protection Act.In August, Judge James Robart found on summary judgment that Mr. Lahoti had registered and used vericheck.com in bad faith; that he was not entitled to the ACPA’s “safe harbor” provision; that vericheck.com and VERICHECK are identical or confusingly similar; and that Vericheck’s use of the mark predated Mr. Lahoti’s registration of the domain name.In November, t...
Seattle Venture Capitalist Says Build Business Around Good Domain Name
2007-10-19 07:31:00 The Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently ran a story about a Seattle venture capitalist’s strategy: acquire a good domain name, then build a business around it.That’s Rob Monster’s idea, who the P-I says formed the Bellevue, Wash.-based Domain Strategies and joined the Boston-based Internet Real Estate Group as a partner.“Between the 5,000 names at Domain Strategies (OrganicSeasonings.com, IdentityLock.com and Anonymize.com, to name a few) and 600 names at Internet Real Estate Group (Software.com, Jeans.com and Chocolate.com), Monster thinks a compelling business or two could be created. Instead of managing those businesses on his own, Monster wants to serve as the matchmaker who links talented entrepreneurs with high-quality names.”He told the P-I: “I believe that for every business idea that correlates with a category-defining domain, there is a corresponding world-class management team and corresponding capital source th...
Typosquatting & Cybersquatting Can Impact Your Solo Practice and Good N
2007-10-19 06:02:00 Typosquatting is the registering of a domain name with a deliberate typo in it, a common typo, to redirect another's potential visitor to one's own site. Outside the legal realm, a famous typosquatter, one who is sitting in jail for...
Real estate broker sued for ?cybersquatting?, has the last laugh
2007-09-26 23:48:00 In June 2006, Florida real estate broker Michael Morgan unveiled a Web site targeting alleged costly construction mistakes by Lennar Homes. In it, Morgan alluded to allegations of “shoddy workmanship, slipshod carpentry and faulty wiring” and invited consumers to submit their complaints. Morgan bought PPC ads and whenever someone was searching for Lennar ...
Bloomberg News: Microsoft Files Cybersquatting Lawsuits
2007-09-14 21:37:00 Not to be outdone by the likes of this blog, Bloomberg News today reported that Microsoft has filed three lawsuits against alleged cybersquatters. One of the three is Microsoft Corp. v. Kovyrin (complaint here), which STL reported on yesterday. Interestingly, the lawsuits are part of a unified effort against cybersquatters involving trademark owners Dell Inc., Time Warner Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Yahoo! Inc., as well as the International Trademark Association. (INTA press release here).The Bloomberg story cites Microsoft as saying it has brought 15 similar cases in the past year, enabling it “to take possession of more than 2,000 misused domain names and recover more than $1.17 million in illegal profits.”
Microsoft Sues Alleged Cybersquatters
2007-09-14 05:03:00 On Sept. 10, Microsoft Corp. filed suit in the Western District against Canadian resident Oleksiy Kovyrin, Digi Real Estate Foundation, and John Does, alleging that the defendants are the registrants and users of 70 domain names that infringe Microsoft’s trademarks and violate the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.At issue in the case is defendants’ alleged use or intentional misspe-lling of Microsoft’s MICROSOFT, MSN, WINDOWS, and other registered trademarks in domain names including microsoftaccessdatabase.com, microsoftantivirus.com, microsoft-developer.com, msnaccount.com, msnantispyware.com, msnhotmai.com, msnhotmial.com, msnmessenger.com, msnsearch.com, windoms.com, windowmoviemaker.com, windowsmedaiplayer.com, and windowsserver.com.Microsoft alleges that “Many of the Infringing Domain Names resolve to websites that are controlled by Defendants…. Many of these websites display advertis...
Western District Finds Bad Faith in VERICHECK Cybersquatting Case
2007-09-12 06:02:00 On August 30, the Western District denied in part and granted in part cross-motions for summary judgment brought by plaintiff David Lahoti and defendant Vericheck, Inc., on Mr. Lahoti’s complaint for declaratory relief challenging the National Arbitration Forum’s UDRP order that his domain name be transferred to Vericheck, Inc., and finding that his use does not violate the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. Vericheck provides check verification services, check collection services, and wireless payments. It claims it has used the mark VERICHECK since 1995 and has maintained an Internet presence at www.vericheck.net since 1999. The company also registered vericheck.org, vericheck.cc, vericheck.us, and vericheck.biz. In 2001, Vericheck registered a service mark with the State of Georgia described as “a depiction of a check mark over the word ‘vericheck.’”-Mr. Lahoti is a self-proclaimed “Internet entrepreneur....
What is Cybersquatting?
2007-08-25 01:52:00 Cybersquatting refers to using, trafficking in or registering a domain name with the intention of taking advantage of the popularity of another company’s trademark. These cybersquatters generally register these domains before the target company, thus forcing the latter to buy the domain from them at a higher price. Cybersquatting comes from the term squatting, which describes ...
"Protecting Your Domain" - Cybersquatting and Typo-Squatting - Interview W
2007-08-03 17:45:00 In keeping with my post on Who Owns Your Website here is a transcript of an interview with Enrico Schaefer of Traverse Legal (Greatest American Lawyer) on VTalk Radio: Topic: Protecting your internet identity: Cybersquatting and Typo-squatting. JOHN: Welcome to...
The Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse seeks to disable Cybersquatting
2007-08-03 13:09:00 Cybersquatting is where people, who may have less than honorable intentions, set up a website with a domain name that appears to be a trusted brand, or organization. Often, these domains are then used to commit financial crimes on the Internet. In most of the recent disasters, most notably the Katrina hurricane, some of these look alike ...
Cybersquatting in 2007 - A Global Problem!
2007-07-03 11:38:00 Cyberquatting is one of the most serious predicament of the Internet era. In 2006, 1,823 formal complaints were lodged over internet address disputes with the World Intellectual Property Organization?s (WIPO) arbitration and mediation centre, the most since 2000. Cybersquatting? is defined as ?the abusive registration of trademarks as domain names.? The WIPO complained the domain name ...
By: UmatBlog
Cybersquatting in 2007 - A Global Problem!
2007-07-03 11:38:00 Cyberquatting is one of the most serious predicament of the Internet era. In 2006, 1,823 formal complaints were lodged over internet address disputes with the World Intellectual Property Organization?s (WIPO) arbitration and mediation centre, the most since 2000. Cybersquatting? is defined as ?the abusive registration of trademarks as domain names.? The WIPO complained the domain name ...
By: UmatBlog
How Not to Obtain a TRO-Temporary Injunction-Domain Forfeiture Order
2007-07-03 04:17:00 On June 27, Western District Judge Marsha Pechman denied the plaintiff’s unusual injunction motion in Hi-Rise Technology, Inc. v. Amatuerindex.com. Plaintiff owns a federal registration for THE AMATEUR INDEX in connection with adult entertainment Web sites. In March, plaintiff filed an in rem action against amatuerindex.com, an alleged typosquatter, seeking transfer of the domain name to plaintiff under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. Plaintiff’s motion was unusual in that it sought a temporary restraining order requiring eNom, the domain name registrar, to “transfer the Domain to a new account with eNom for the Plaintiff and to provide the access information to Plaintiff’s counsel so that the Domain may remain under Plaintiff’s control in the new account until this action is concluded. Plaintiff furthermore prays that the temporary restraining order be automatically converted into a temporary injunction one day befo...
Are you Looking Down the Long End of a Cybersquatting Law Suit?
2007-06-24 19:47:00 Ever buy a competitor’s domain or one extremely similar to it or even a misspelled version, then redirect that site to your own? If so, you very well may be looking at a law suit. Because I see it happen quite a bit in the real estate blogosphere, I thought I’d do a little research and explain the low down on cybersquatting so you can evaluate whether you are squatting on someone else’s property or if someone is trespassing on yours. Read more »
Cybersquatting
2007-06-14 05:07:00 “Quand diable Pauline Marois va-t-elle relancer le site web qu’elle avait développé lors de la course à la direction du PQ en 2005? C’est pourtant pas si compliqué de remettre un site à jour.” C’est la question que nous nous posons depuis qu’elle a annoncé sa candidature à la succession d’André Boisclair. Tristan Péloquin a la ... |
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