CPT's Page of Selected Domain Name Disputes |
The best way to follow CPT's work on domain name disputes is to subscribe to Random-Bits. Here are the recent Archives.
astrocartography.com whois | In a dispute involving two competing astrological
consulting services a UDRP proceeding the National Arbitration Forum
panel ruled that though the domain name was confusingly similar to the
complainants trademark the respondent had a legitimate interest in the
name on the grounds that "astrocartography" is a generic term.
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barcelona.com whois |
In this UDRP/WIPO decision the single panelist ruled the domain name
be transferred from the respondent who sought to develop a website
about various cities named Barcelona throughout the world, to the city
of Barcelona, Spain. On the UDRP criterion of legitimate interest on the part of the respondent the panelist ruled that :
"... such right of interest is and will be always subject to the lack of disputes with parties having better rights or more legitimate interests as in this case." |
bodacious-tatas.com whois | In this UDRP/WIPO decision the panel ruled for the
cancellation of the domain name. The action was brought by Tata Group
India, a multibillion dollar industrial company with a trademark on
"tata". The panel ruled that the Tata trademark "deserve[s] wide
protection" due to its "aura of high repute", and that
bodacious-tatas, a term that means "large female breasts" in parts of
the US, was confusingly similar to the Tata trademark.
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bridgestone-firestone.net
whois |
Bridgestone-Firestone, the giant manufacturer of tires, owns
the domains bridgestone-firestone.com, ihatebridgestone.com,
ihatefirestone.com and bridgestonesucks.com. Jack Myers, a former
employee of Bridgestone, registered bridgestone-firestone.net, which
he uses as a consumer-employee forum. The web page has
section such as "What BFS doesn't want you to know." A WIPO
UDRP panel ruled that:
Respondent is not a licensee of the Complainants and is not otherwise authorized to use the Complainants' marks. However, the Policy sets forth examples of circumstances whereby a domain name registrant may demonstrate a right or legitimate interest in a domain name, including:... making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name, without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert consumers or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue. . . |
catmachines.com
whois | The domain name was transferred to the complainant, after Caterpillar, the industrial machinery manufacturer, maintained that the domain name was confusingly similar to caterpillar.com.
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csa-canada.com whois csa-international.net whois |
A firm named Care Tech Industries sought to have one of its products,
an ozone generator, certified by the Canadian Standards Association
(CSA). When CSA failed to certify its product Care Tech registered
the domain names csa-international.net and
csa-canada.com and used the domains to publish a website
critical of CSA. CSA was successful in having the domain names
transferred to it in a UDRP/WIPO proceeding. In its decision
the WIPO UDRP panelist explicitly rejected the free speech defense.
At each website, Respondents attack and criticise the Complainant and its staff in relation, inter alia, to its failure to certify Respondents' Odatus generator. . . they are not using the domain names in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services . . . Examination of Respondents' web pages clearly show that they are using their domain names to attract persons to their sites for the purpose of publicly attacking the Complainant and members of its staff and pleading its case in relation to a dispute between themselves and the Complainant... |
crew.com
whois | The domain name was transferred to J. Crew, which
claimed that its service mark on "crew" gave it rights to
crew.com. One WIPO panelist in the UDRP proceeding issued a stinging dissent, saying:
"Furthermore, the majority seems to assume that a trademark owner has some sort of God given right to use the trademark to the exclusion of others. As Justice Holmes observed, 'A trademark does not confer a right to prohibit the use of the word or words?. A trademark only gives the right to prohibit the use of it so far as to protect the owner's goodwill against the sale of another's product as his.' Prestonettes, Inc. v. Coty, 264 U.S. 359 (1924). In short, the Complainant does not own all rights to the generic word CREW by virtue of its trademark registration." |
dodgeviper.com
whois |
A fan of the automobile Dodge Viper published a website
at this domain. DaimlerChrysler asked to have the domain name
transferred. The WIPO ruled that the fan site was not a legitimate
use of the trademarked names, explicitly considering and rejecting any
fair use considerations. Further, the panel ruled that the domain name had been registered in bad faith, this after DaimlerChrysler had twice featured the website in its publications. The individual running the fan site pursued
the case in a Virginia state court and was able to retain the
domain.
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esquire.com
whois |
The domain name was transferred to Hearst Magazines,
publisher of Esquire, the US men's magazine. The panel ruled to
transfer the domain partly on the basis of a lack of legitimate
interest on the part of the respondent, despite the respondent's
apparent interest in developing a vanity email service using the
domain name. Milton Mueller issued a strong dissent, saying:
"The UDRP is intended to prevent trademark owners from being extorted by cybersquatters, but it is also intended to protect legitimate registrations from being threatened by overreaching trademark owners. A correct application of the spirit and letter of the UDRP gives each of these concerns equal weight. The majority opinion fails to balance these concerns. Absent any evidence that the original registrant was trading specifically on the value of the Esquire Magazine mark, I cannot conclude that the name was registered in bad faith." |
JewsforJesus.org |
This dispute involved a critic of Jews for Jesus. Here
is a
story about the dispute in the New York Times.
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JuliaRoberts.com |
This is a dispute over a domain named Julia Roberts, about Julia Roberts
the movie star, but run by someone not authorized by Julia Roberts.
The owner of the domain, Russell Boyd, says he was a fan of Julia Roberts.
From the WIPO UDRP panel is this quote:
the Respondent elaborates that "If Julia Roberts had picked up a phone and said, 'Hi Russ, can we talk about the domain name juliaroberts.com?' she would own it by now." Then Respondent concludes "But as I mentioned at the beginning of this response, I still think Julia is nifty crazy wacko cool."Mr. Boyd's feelings toward Julia Roberts appear to have changed, following her efforts to take away his domain, and the web page featured such quotes as: Ben, how does it feel knowing that so many men have penetrated "your" woman so recently? . . . Why settle for an aging crusty divorcee getabout?A WIPO panel ruled against the domain owner, but the case is now in court, with the domain owner winning the early rounds. |
kelsonmd.com
whois |
The respondent used the domain to publish a website critical of her
former employer, Kelson Physicians Partners, Inc., the complainant.
The single panelist set aside the respondent's argument that freedom
of speech protected her use of the trademark, and ruled the domain
name be transferred.
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kwasizabantu.[com,org,net]
whois |
The respondent published a website critical of the
KwaSizabantu religious sect. The WIPO transferred the domain names
citing "such activity amounts to tarnishing the activities associated
with the trademark or service mark 'KwaSizabantu'". The panel
rejected a defense based on freedom of speech, saying:
"The admitted nature of the use of the domain names ... includes alternative views and indeed critical views concerning ... [KwaSizabantu] and its activities. The Panel holds such activity amounts to tarnishing the activities associated with the trademark or service mark "KwaSizabantu" ... . Therefore, ... [Rost] does not establish any rights or legitimate interests ..." |
madonna.com | Madonna, the celebrity, is trying to take the domain madonna.com from its current owner, Dan Parisi, famous for such domains as Whitehouse.com, which is a porno site. A few articles about this dispute (as reported on madonna.com) include ZDNet's Madonna wants her name back CNET's Madonna.com embroiled in domain ownership spat WiredMaterial Girls wants her good name. and Nebraska Hospital Caught in Madonna Trademark Spat. |
neworldcoffeefraud.com whois |
A New World Coffee franchisee maintaining a website critical
of New World Coffee franchising practices, defeated a motion to
issue a temporary restraining order under the
Anti-Cybersquatting Act. The judge ruled that the domain name
was not confusingly similar to the plaintiff's trademark.
From the newworldcoffeefraud.com web page:
This site is sponsored by, and in support of, people damaged by New World Coffee Manhattan Bagel's Fraud in selling franchises. We will work indefinitely, using any legal means necessary, to achieve two goals: First, to obtain restitution for New World's victims. Second, to punish agents of New World and Manhattan Bagel responsible for these actions -- whether or not they are still affiliated with the company. |
nissan.com |
This dispute involes Nissan Motor Co., and Nissan Computer Corp., a North Carolina-based corporation. Nissan Computer Corp. is owned by Uzi Nissan, an Israeli-American. In addition, "Nissan" means month of April in Arabic and the seventh month in the Hebrew calendar. Uzi NIssan's side of the story is here: http://www.ncchelp.org/. |
penguin.org whois |
The domain name was retained by the respondent, an
individual nicknamed "the Penguin", who used the domain to publish a
personal website. The complainant was Penguin Books, who maintained
that the individual's failure to use the domain name to offer a
product or service demonstrated that he did not have legitimate
interest in the domain.
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peta.org whois | The animal rights group People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) brought a complaint under the
US Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act against the holder of the
domain name. The defendant used the domain name to publish a parody
site "People Eating Tasty Animals". The US federal court transferred
the domain name, ruling trademark infringement and dilution.
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pueblo.net whois |
The complainant, a large supermarket chain, sought the transfer of the
domain name from a firm seeking to sell a package of domain name and
web hosting services to the city of Pueblo. In its decision the panel
cited the respondent's conduct as a domain name speculator as the
primary reason for transferring the domain name, such actions
constituting bad faith and no legitimate interest, despite the offer
of web services.
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pueblo.org whois |
This dispute involved the same complainant as the pueblo.net case but resulted in the domain
name being retained by the respondent, a group publishing a guide to
the city of Pueblo, Colorado. The panel rejected the request for a
transfer of the domain name, maintaining that the .org suffix
distinguished the domain name from the trademarked name.
From the UDRP opinion:
The Panelist does not understand, nor is he willing to accept, Respondent's concession that its domain name is identical to Complainant's service mark, for it is not when appropriate domain names are considered. This is because a domain name combination must include a top-level domain which can be "com.," "net.," "org.," "gov.," or "edu.," among others. . . . The top-level domain "org" customarily is in usage by non-profit or "miscellaneous" entities and not by a supermarket chain such as Complainant's. |
scientologie.org whois |
The Church of Scientology sought the transfer of the
domain name for a website of a splinter Scientology group. The
splinter group used the domain name to publish a website that was
critical of the Church of Scientology. In a UDRP/WIPO proceeding the
panel denied the request to transfer citing legitimate interest on the
part of the respondent. The panel held that the rights of the
respondent to criticize the Church of Scientology outweighed the right
of the complainant with respect to its trademark. The case also
involved a number of other interesting issues. For example,
the name "Scientologie" was the title of a book 1934, and the
domain owner had acquired an exclusive license to market the book.
This is a quote from the UDRP decision:
In summary, it is apparent that Respondent separated from the Church of Scientology, whose founder and leader, L. Ron Hubbard, assigned all rights to the trademark SCIENTOLOGY to Complainant. On the other hand, Respondent is holding genuine rights in the German Book entitled "Scientologie - Wissenschaft von der Beschaffenheit und Tauglichkeit des Wissens" which seems to be sharing philosophical roots with the philosophy of L. Ron Hubbard. The copyrights and other rights in this book have been licensed to Respondent by Dr. Nordenholz's heirs, and these rights appear to be even older than Complainant's trademarks. Under these circumstances it cannot be said that Respondent has no right whatsoever and no legitimate interest in the Domain Name. In the contrary, to use the Domain Name as an international platform to disseminate information about Respondent's book and its underlying philosophy appears to be a legitimate interest in itself of Respondent. Accordingly, Complainant has failed to sustain its burden of proof in this respect. |
shack.com whois |
The complainant, Technology Properties, Inc., owns the
trademark "Shack" which it licenses to RadioShack. Technology
Properties sought the transfer of the domain name from a private
individual. The respondent, nicknamed "Shack", used the domain name
to publish a website for his business, DesignShack.
The UDRP panel ruled that the domain name was to be retained,
citing legitimate interest on the part of the respondent.
Of course "shack" is a generic name, and even a US service
mark on a use of "shack" is not a exclusive right to all uses
of the name.
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tonsil.com whois |
In this UDRP/WIPO decision the panel ruled that the
domain name was to be transferred to a German chemical products firm
that had a trademark on "tonsil," which is apparently
it uses for products involving bleaching earths and clays.
The company claimed that the word
tonsil is "an invented word that has no meaning or significance other
than to identify and distinguish its products from those of its
competitors." Come again? Isn't a tonsil "one of the two glandular
organs situated in the throat at the sides of the fauces?" Does a
trademark in a generic name in any language trump its use as a generic
in all other languages?
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walmartcanadasucks.com whois |
This UDRP/WIPO proceeding resulted in the transfer of
the domain name walmartcanadasucks.com (as well as a number
of other such domain names containing "walmart") to Walmart. The
panel ruled that the domain name was confusingly similar to the
complainants trademark, despite the addition of "sucks" to clearly indicate that the site is critical of Walmart.
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