UDRPlaw - The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy Legal Information Site

Last Post

2006-02-14T10:03:00.000-05:00

I have been operating a UDRP-related website since January 2001, first through UDRPlaw.net, and for past year, through this blog.

I have enjoyed running both sites, providing a helpful resource on the Internet for domain name disputes, ICANN issues and information on Internet governance. When I first planned UDRPlaw.net back in 2000, there were no other resources available on the Internet providing the same service. Since then, many resources have become available, in a number of languages, from interested Internet users worldwide. I recommend Bret Fausett's ICANN blog, Marty Schwimmer's Trademark Blog, Cedric Manara's Nom de Domaine and Circle ID.

Fortunately, the experience gained from running the sites, handling UDRP cases and writing about ICANN has opened some new doors and provided me with a great opportunity. I am looking forward to the fresh start.

This is my last post on this blog. I'll be surfacing again in the next couple of weeks in another location. I am not leaving the Internet, so I will be seeing some of you soon. Thanks for reading.

December in Brazil

2006-02-13T09:22:00.000-05:00

According to the Board agenda for February 21, Sao Paulo, Brazil has been designated as the location for the 2006 ICANN Annual Meeting. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for the first week of December. Brazil served as host of the March 2003 ICANN meeting.

When Latin America comes up on the rotating schedule again in 2008, Mexico would make a great location for an ICANN meeting.

The 2007 schedule includes meetings in Europe, North America and Asia. My wish list: Barcelona in March, New York in June, and Korea in October.

Latin American meeting

2006-02-06T17:11:00.000-05:00

In today's blog post, Bret Fausett notes that a location for the October 2006 ICANN meeting has not yet been published. He also makes a plug for an ICANN meeting in Mexico. This is a great idea. Way back on April 8, 2005, I made a similar recommendation on this blog for Merida, Mexico. Even if the meeting is held in a different location in October, Mexico would be a good candidate for a future meeting.

All is quiet on the GAC Public Forum

2006-02-03T09:35:00.000-05:00

At the ICANN Annual Meeting in Vancouver, the Government Advisory Committee launched a Public Forum section on the GAC website. To date, there have been only been four comments posted to the Public Forum, all by ALAC members, none by GAC representatives themselves. The last comment was posted on December 17, 2005.

According to the introductory note from GAC Chair Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, "I encourage the Internet community and the general public, world-wide to make use of their GAC representatives and to work with us, as part of the ICANN process, to facilitate the development of a comprehensive international public-private partnership in this important area of management of the global Internet infrastructure."

The Wellington meeting is fast approaching. It would be beneficial for all interested parties if GAC representatives and members of the Internet community were making greater use of the GAC Public Forum.

WB Loses DaisyDukes.com Complaint

2006-02-01T08:29:00.000-05:00

Warner Brothers Entertainment, which owns the rights to The Dukes of Hazzard and related characters, including DAISY DUKE, failed in its UDRP case against the registrant of the domain name DaisyDukes.com.

The Panelist determined that although WB had common law rights in the DAISY DUKE mark and the registrant lacked rights and legitimate interests in the DaisyDukes.com domain name, WB failed to demonstrate that the registrant had registered and used the domain name in bad faith.

"Respondent submits that his use of the term “daisy dukes” is not in bad faith because the term has become accepted vernacular for women’s cut-off shorts and this term has been used in that connotation to attract people to this pornographic web site. The best evidence submitted by Respondent in support of that position is his submission in evidence of the lyrics of a 1992 song “Dazzey Duks” by rap artist Duice. The song repeatedly uses this term to refer to cut-off shorts and makes no reference to the Dukes of Hazzard television series. Complainant does not address this evidence in its Additional Submission and presents no counter-arguments regarding its significance. The Panel finds that this piece of unrefuted evidence slightly tips the balance in favor of Respondent."

The Panelist overlooked the fact that the meaning of of the term "daisy dukes" is taken directly from the clothing (or lack thereof) worn by and popularized by the DAISY DUKE character in the television series.

This case is probably headed to federal court.

Warner Brothers Entertainment Inc. v. R Schwartz d/b/a Virtual Dates Inc., NAF Case FA608636 (Jan. 26, 2006).

New WIPO Report on UDRP Cases

2006-01-25T13:14:00.000-05:00

CircleID has posted a link to a new WIPO report on UDRP cases the domain name dispute resolution provider handled in 2005. A copy of the report is available here.

"'Notwithstanding the unique effectiveness of the UDRP as a global remedy against cybersquatting, the fact that WIPO’s caseload in 2005 was the highest in four years and that many of these cases concern recently registered domain names, underlines the need for continued vigilance by intellectual property owners,' said Mr. Francis Gurry, Deputy Director General of WIPO who oversees the work of the Center. He further noted that, while WIPO’s experience shows that UDRP disputes are heavily concentrated in the .com domain, attention must also be paid to the establishment of robust preventive mechanisms against abusive registration in new gTLDs. 'If domain names are randomly attributed in new domains, intellectual property owners will be forced to compete with cybersquatters for their own trademarks – unless additional preventive safeguards are introduced,' he added."

Turin2006.com Domain Ordered Transferred in Advance of Olympic Games

2006-01-23T14:46:00.000-05:00

The International Olympic Committee and TOROC, the Organizing Committee for the Turin 2006 Olympic Winter Games have won a UDRP decision against the registrant of the domain name Turin2006.com. The registrant had altered the content of the website available at the domain name after the filing of the UDRP complaint.

The Turin Olympic Games begin February 10.

The Smells of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking

2006-01-17T14:48:00.000-05:00

It has been awhile since a UDRP panelist issued a decision in support of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking against a trademark owner. The latest RDNH decision involves the domain name AROMA.COM. In a decision issued January 16, 2006, Panelist John J. Upchurch determined that Mirama Enterprises, Inc. dba Aroma Housewares Company "attempted to abuse the administrative process to wrest control of Respondent's domain name and take over the domain name registration." The decision is Mirama Enterprises, Inc. dba Aroma Housewares Company v. NJDomains, Abuse Contact:abuse@mail.com c/o Gerald Gorman, NAF Case FA588486 (Jan. 16, 2006).

Finnish Company & Town Join Forces in UDRP Win

2006-01-11T08:53:00.000-05:00

In a WIPO decision issued December 14, Raisio PLC and the Finnish Town of Raisio joined forces in a UDRP victory issued against the Korean registrant of Raisio.com. The case is a departure from other UDRP decisions involving city names.

Raisio plc and Town of Raisio v. Lee Joohee, Yang Youngho, WIPO Case D2005-1041 (Dec. 14, 2005).

PubCheese.com Complaint Appropriately Denied by Panel

2006-01-09T16:41:00.000-05:00

A National Arbitration Forum panelist had denied a complaint brought against the domain name PubCheese.com. Read the decision here: http://www.arb-forum.com/domains/decisions/596032.htm.

.CAT on the internet

2005-12-21T08:45:00.000-05:00

Welcome to .CAT, the newest sponsored TLD on the internet. PuntCat joins .travel and .jobs (and .EU) as new registries.

Registrar Certificates and .com/.net Domain Names

2005-12-14T11:09:00.000-05:00

Anyone interested in registry obligations to provide registrar certificates for domain names in ACPA actions should read Continental Airlines Inc. v. ContinentalAirlines.com and ContinentalExpressAirlines.com, 390 F. Supp. 2d 501 (E.D.Va. July 13, 2005).

The Court says in a footnote that "because Verisign, the registry of the domain names [and is the .com and .net registry], is located in this judicial district, it is irrelevant that Verisign declined to submit a registrar certificate or other documentation with the Court to establish the Court's authority over the domain names. See CNN, 177 F. Supp. 2d at 514 n.17. The registrar certificate merely serves to establish the domain name's situs, an unnecessary step where, as here, the domain name registry is within the Court's jurisdiction. (Emphasis added) See 15 USC §1125(d)(2)(C)(i)-(ii)."

This is a very useful decision for anyone with non-US registrar issues involving .com and .net domain names.

Single Letter Domain Names

2005-12-14T10:32:00.000-05:00

Two new letters have been posted on the Correspondence page of the ICANN website, one by Yahoo and one by Fish & Richardson on behalf of U. Inc. Both companies are in support of the release of single letter domain names.

If you traveled to Vancouver for the ICANN Annual Meeting, you might have also seen representatives from Overstock.com giving away "O" hats. Overstock had previously written to ICANN in support of the release of O.com. ICANN has also received a letter on the release of K.com.

If single letter domain names are to be released, I'd like to see more information on how these names are going to be made available (via auction, first come, first served release, select reservation or other methods). Companies are already claiming trademark rights in domain names that have yet to be made available.

Guess what was the most requested .EU domain on Day One

2005-12-08T17:30:00.000-05:00

The top requested .EU domain name on day one was...Sex.EU. EURID quickly hit 100,000 domain name requests yesterday. For more, read the article in PC World.

New NAF Supplemental Rules Begin January 1

2005-12-08T17:08:00.000-05:00

The National Arbitration Forum is updating its Supplemental Rules for the UDRP and other domain name disputes, effective January 1, 2006. For more information, read here: http://www.arb-forum.com/domains/NAFSupplementalRules.asp

Update - At first glance, changes include an increase in the supplemental filing fee from $250 to $400 (with a new proof of service requirement), a new $100 re-initiation fee, and increased filing fees. For 1-2 domain names, the new filing fee is $1300 (from $1150).

.EU Launch Begins Today

2005-12-07T09:38:00.000-05:00

The .EU TLD begins its Sunrise Period today. For more information, visit EURID.eu.

News roundup

Dot-EU Domain Goes Live Today (Silicon.com) - Dec. 7

So Who Is Funding CFIT and Why? (The Register) - Dec. 7

EU Domain Name To Come Into Force (CBROnline.com) - Dec. 7

EU Plants ".eu" Internet Domain Name in Cyberspace (Pravda) - Dec. 7

Europe's Own Internet Space Starts Wednesday (Reuters) - Dec. 7

Back from Vancouver

2005-12-05T08:22:00.000-05:00

I'm back from a fascinating, eye-opening week in Vancouver for the 2005 ICANN Annual Meeting. It was a long week, but worth the trip. The results of the meeting are better covered on other websites, but I will direct attention to the captioning from Saturday's Public Forum and the results of yesterday's Board Meeting.

Here's another website interested parties should pay much closer attention to:
gac.icann.org. The GAC Vancouver Communique is available here. The GAC also has a new Public Forum for comments on GAC activities.

Heading to Vancouver

2005-11-28T14:48:00.000-05:00

If you're heading to the ICANN Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, I hope to see you there. Depending on timing & internet access, I may try some light blogging from the meeting. Bret Fausett's ICANN blog is an excellent source of information on ICANN, and he frequently posts podcasts and audio from the meetings.

Tunis Document

2005-11-16T08:26:00.000-05:00

Under an agreement reached at WSIS in Tunis, there will be a new multi-stakeholder forum next year in Athens, called the Internet Governance Forum. The document is here in Adobe Acrobat.http://www.itu.int/wsis/docs2/tunis/off/6rev1.pdf

The domain names InternetGovernanceForum.com and InternetGovernanceForum.org were registered yesterday and are for sale on Sedo.com.

UDRP Turns Six

2005-11-15T09:08:00.000-05:00

I failed to post this a few weeks ago, but the UDRP turned six on October 24. The first UDRP decision was World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc. v. Michael Bosman, WIPO Case D99-0001 (Jan. 14, 2000), for the domain name WorldWrestlingFederation.com. The domain name directs visitors to the World Wrestling Entertainment website, WWE.com.

I don't have accurate numbers, but my best guess is that there have been over 16,000 UDRP cases in the past 6 years. Cybersquatting has not gone away either.

WSIS Week

2005-11-14T10:13:00.000-05:00

This week the world will be watching Tunisia during the World Summit on the Information Society. InfoToday.com has a summary of what's at stake.

An aggregate of blog postings on WSIS is available here: www.wsisblogs.org

Interview with EU Commissioner Viviane Reding in Der Spiegel: http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,384561,00.html

"So where are we up to with this internet governance thing?" - The Register

Once again, read the paper from the Internet Governance Project here.

ICANN Board Call Today

2005-11-08T07:55:00.000-05:00

Here's the agenda for today's ICANN Board call:

8 November 2005
Special Meeting of the Board
Proposed Agenda

- Consideration of .ASIA sTLD Application
- Review and Consideration of Policy Development Process Results and Public Comments for "Procedure for use by ICANN in considering requests for consent and related contractual amendments to allow changes in the architecture or operation of a gTLD registry"
- Board Governance Committee's Recommendation for the Creation of a new Board Compensation Committee
- Briefing Regarding Certain Fiscal Year 2005-2006 Budget Items
- Authorization to Bind Professional Liability Insurance Proposal
- Redelegation of .GS (South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands)
- Approval of Legal Expenses
- Single Letter 2d Level Domain Name Discussion
- Authorization to Enter into Addendum to Marina del Rey Sublease
- Proposed ICANN Bylaws Changes on Interim ALAC's Certification of At-Large Structures
- Proposed Guidelines for Implementation of IDN's, v.2.0
- Approval of Board of Director's Expenses
- Other Business

Listen to Bret Fausett

2005-11-05T07:44:00.000-05:00

Bret Fausett's internet Pro Radio podcast is always informative. In iProRadio #57, Bret discusses the ICANN-Verisign settlement and public participation in ICANN.

http://blog.lextext.com/_attachments/1343613/iProRadio-2005Nov4.mp3

Keep up the good work Bret.

New Internet Governance Project Paper

2005-11-02T17:48:00.000-05:00

The Internet Governance Project (http://www.internetgovernance.org) has released another paper in advance of the World Summit on the Information Society. This paper is a must read. Download it in pdf here: http://dcc.syr.edu/miscarticles/Political-Oversight.pdf

"WSIS seems to be foundering on the issue of 'political oversight' of the Internet. IGP issues a new paper that clarifies the issues and provides concrete proposals for moving forward. We explain why WSIS must separate discussion of the role of governments in setting policy for all Internet issues from discussion of the narrower problem of ICANN's oversight. By means of a careful analysis of the contractual instruments used by the U.S. government to supervise ICANN, the paper shows how the problem of U.S. unilateral oversight can be addressed in a way that is both politically feasible and avoids threatening the stability or freedom of the Internet."

mTLD to Require Strict Standards

2005-10-26T08:40:00.000-04:00

The recently approved sponsored TLD .mobi will require registrants to follow strict standards on web development, according to an article in Silicon.com (copy on ZDNet UK available here). For more information, visit www.mtldinfo.com.

ICANN-Verisign Settlement

2005-10-26T08:30:00.000-04:00

On Monday October 24 ICANN and Verisign announced an end to their long simmering legal dispute and reached a settlement that will allow Verisign to retain maintenance of the .com TLD through 2012. Commenting on the proposed agreement, Paul Twomey, President and CEO of ICANN said: "This proposed agreement settles many of the long-standing points of tension between ICANN and VeriSign. The settlement opens the way for a constructive and productive relationship between ICANN and VeriSign that will benefit the global Internet community, and further illustrates the benefits of a multi-stakeholder approach."

A copy of the press release from ICANN is available here. A link to the proposed settlement agreements is here. The .com Registry Agreement is here. Link to Bret Fausett's podcast on the settlement is here.

Vint Cerf Joins Google

2005-09-08T16:00:00.000-04:00

First Google becomes an ICANN-accredited registrar, and today it announced Vint Cerf will join the company as "Chief Internet Evangelist". Cerf is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the Internet and is currently the Chairman of the ICANN Board.

From the press release:

"'His vision for technology helped create entire industries that have transformed many parts of our lives. We are honored to welcome him to Google.'

Cerf will continue his leadership in the Internet community, and help Google build network infrastructure, architectures, systems, and standards for the next generation of Internet applications.

'Google has already made tremendous strides in making access to information on the web a reality for users across the globe, but we're still in the Internet's early innings,' he said. 'This medium will enjoy wider-spread use than television, radio or phones, and will ultimately expand beyond planet Earth. Google has always believed in doing things differently, and I believe that places us in a unique position to help bring even the wildest Internet visions into reality.'"

What will Google do next?

European Parliament Recommends .kid TLD

2005-09-08T10:05:00.000-04:00

Cedric at Nom de Domaine has posted this Italian language article on the European Parliament's recommendation for a .kid TLD.

Today, the story has been picked up in a number of publications.

EU Backs Plan For .kid TLD (TheRegister) - Sept. 8
Redux: European Parliament Proposes .kid Internet Domain (CircleID) - Sept. 8
EU Proposes .kid Domain (AustralianIT) - Sept. 8

For those who can, enjoy the long weekend

2005-09-01T14:17:00.000-04:00

Light blogging until Tuesday, September 6. Take time to spend the weekend with family and friends.

More from New Orleans

2005-09-01T13:33:00.000-04:00

If it was not a true life event, one would think Directnic's continuing struggle in New Orleans was a sequel to Escape from New York or some other Hollywood-scripted thriller. Sadly, it's the real thing, and worse for those stranded there. Here's a selection of news articles on Directnic:

Heroic New Orleans Hosting Outfit Battles On (The Register) - Sept. 1
Directnic Stays Online During Katrina (Web Host Industry Review ) - Sept. 1
News Roundup from CNN

Update: The Directnic site is now down. Here's the most recent statement from the Directnic blog:

"11:50 am Update. My first tactical mistake. We were unprepared to accept the fuel when it arrived. The fuel arrived way too soon for us and we did not have all the empty drums down one ground floor when they got here. The driver had other deliveries to make, so rather than waste his time, I told him we'd recoordinate and be ready for him later today or tomorrow.

That's the bad news. Here's the worse news:

All of our providers are dropping. We're down to one. We have enough fuel to keep us powered for a long time, but we could lose internet access soon if our last provider drops.

So I guess what I'm saying is that any moment could be my last moment online. If we do lose internet, Outpost Crystal might have to be abandoned by all but Sig and Myself. I've got to get Crystal out of here safely and relocated to someplace out of this state. I'm working on escape routes now."

Wow. It goes on, read it here.

Directnic Coping With Hurricane Katrina Damage

2005-08-31T09:53:00.000-04:00

ICANN accredited registrar Directnic is located in downtown New Orleans, and has posted a blog and photos of the damage left by Hurricane Katrina. (Blog here). It is stunning what they've had to go through and it looks like things will get worse there before they get better. The whole city may have to be evacuated.

One way to help is by donating to the American Red Cross. Their site is running slowly, but be patient.

Foxwood.com Case Continues

2005-08-30T09:59:00.000-04:00

In 2002, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, owners of the Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Connecticut, filed suit in federal court against Raymond Redican Jr. over his registration of the domain names Foxwood.com and Foxwood.org. In March 2004, the US District Court for the District of Connecticut denied Redican's motion to dismiss. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe v. Raymond Redican Jr. dba CBNO Foxwood.com, 02-CV-1828 (D. Ct. Mar. 18, 2004). According to news reports, U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall heard arguments yesterday that the domain names are confusingly similar to the tribe's Foxwoods.com domain name.

- Newsday article

Internet Governance Project Statement

2005-08-26T14:38:00.000-04:00

From the Internet Governance Project & ICANN's Non-Commercial Users Constituency list, here is the link to an important "Statement Opposing Political Intervention Into the Internet's Core Technical Administrative Functions". After reading the Statement, if you want to sign up in support, click the link here. Read it carefully.

Five Complainants Join Together To Win UDRP Case

2005-08-25T15:44:00.000-04:00

In a decision issued yesterday by the National Arbitration Forum, five subsidiaries of GlaxoSmithKline PLC joined together in one UDRP case against Indian registrant Pradeep Dadha over his registration and use of 12 domain names containing the names of GlaxoSmithKline drugs with the words "Buy Generic".

No response was filed by Dadha, and Panelist John J. Upchurch ordered the domain names transferred to the five co-complainants. The decision may be the first UDRP action involving five co-complainants.

Glaxo Group Limited, SmithKline Beecham PLC, SmithKline Beecham Corp., BW USA, Inc. & SB Pharmco Puerto Rico Inc. v. Pradeep Dadha, NAF Case FA514979 (Aug. 24, 2005).

Breaking News - 4th Circuit Rules Against Falwell

2005-08-24T16:08:00.000-04:00

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (noted for being one of the most conservative circuits in the country), has reversed a decision issued in favor of televangelist Jerry Falwell and instead granted summary judgment in favor of Christopher Lamparello over the domain name fallwell.com. The Court's decision is available here in Adobe Acrobat format. A news article on the decision is available here.

"After even a quick glance at the content of the website at www.fallwell.com, no one seeking Reverend Falwell's guidance would be misled by the domain name - www.fallwell.com - into believing Reverend Falwell authorized the content of that website."

Compare with the 4th Circuit's PETA.org decision. The Court said there was no likelihood of confusion between Lamparello's website and Falwell.

The Court also found no bad faith intent to profit from using the [www.fallwell.com] domain name. "Lamparello clearly employed www.fallwell.com simply to criticize Reverend Fallwell's views."

Book Your .Travel Now

2005-08-24T12:07:00.000-04:00

Pre-authentication for D-U-N-S number holders is now available. Click here to begin: www.authentication.travel/

"You should be aware that you will not be registering any domain name(s) at this time. To register a .travel domain name you must be pre-authenticated and then, beginning in September 2005, you will be able to register your domain name(s) through the .travel Registry approved registrar. Contact Dun & Bradstreet if you have any questions about this process."

Limited Launch for .Travel begins on October 1, 2005.

Objection to the Flag 2

2005-08-24T11:25:00.000-04:00

Cedric Manara over at Nom de Domaine caught this first, but I'll expand a little. There are a large number of blogs that are geared toward adults, with clearly adult content. Allowing readers to flag blogs as objectionable opens to door to campaigns by certain groups with their own agenda, campaigns that *may* be used to censor content within the Blogger.com space. Blogger provides a great service, but it should tread carefully if it removes content just because it receives a few targeted complaints. I'll leave my comment at that and wait to see how the service works in practice.

New UDRP Decisions

2005-08-23T12:04:00.000-04:00

A roundup of recent UDRP decisions:

The Estate of Marlon Brando v. thewordbank twb, NAF Case FA505502 (Aug. 16, 2005). The domain name MarlonBrando.net was ordered transferred to the Estate.

Disney Enterprises, Inc. v. Whois Privacy Protection Service, Inc. aka Whois Agent, NAF Case 506742 (Aug. 17, 2005). The panel ordered the transfer of DisneyChannal.com.

M. Shanken Communications, Inc. v. Cenal.com c/o DNS Manager, NAF Case FA508512 (Aug. 18, 2005). WineSpectatorOnline.com ordered transferred.

.EU Dispute Resolution Information

2005-08-03T10:06:00.000-04:00

Via Cedric Manara's Nom de Domaine, here is a link to the Arbitration Center for .EU Disputes and Dispute Resolution Rules. This looks interesting and I will have to go through it thoroughly.

Can someone clarify for me why WIPO is not a dispute resolution provider for .EU domain names?

Update - A reader kindly mentioned that EURID may appoint more dispute resolution providers in the future. WIPO's location in Switzerland (not an EU member) may also have something to do with it not being selected to provide .EU dispute services. My response to that is WIPO currently provides domain name dispute resolution services for several EU member ccTLDs, including .CY (Cyprus), .FR (France), .IE (Ireland), .LI (Liechtenstein), .NL (Netherlands), and .PL (Poland).

WIPO's experience with domain name disputes would certainly be beneficial for a new domain name dispute process, but perhaps the EC wants to expand the arbitration options. WIPO has provided comments and assistance in the drafting of EURID's dispute procedures, so they aren't totally out of the .EU process.

Senator Slams "UN Control Over the Internet"

2005-08-02T09:59:00.000-04:00

From the Drudge Report (which I normally do not read): Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) has issued a statement "denouncing a final report issued by the United Nations' Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) suggesting that the U.N. assume global governance of the Internet." The full press release is available here.

"Putting the U.N. in charge of one of the world's most important technological wonders and economic engines is out of the question. This proposal would leave the United States with no more say over the future of the Internet than Cuba or China-countries that have little or no commitment to the free flow of information."

The WGIG taskforce report will be discussed at the World Summit on the Information Society Tunisia in November.

"In light of this report, I also plan to consult with experts and stakeholders regarding Internet governance, and will assess whether legislation is needed as a remedy," Coleman continued. "The U.S. is willing to work with other countries that have an interest in the management of their own country code domains but UN control is out of the question. We will continue a dialogue with the rest of the world on these issues as we go forward."

Get Ready For .Jobs

2005-08-02T09:53:00.000-04:00

According to this morning's press release, the .jobs domain will conclude its start-up phase on August 15. First come, first served domain name registrations will begin in September 2005.

From the press release: "During the .jobs start-up phase, companies should make sure to secure their legal company names, also known as Service Marks, before the August 15 deadline. If more than one company applies for the same .jobs domain during the start-up phase, then the domain will be awarded to the company that can demonstrate longer commercial use."

Syracuse University Hosts Internet Governance Forum

2005-07-29T14:21:00.000-04:00

Syracuse's Internet Governance Project is holding a symposium today on, you guessed it, governance of the Internet. The event is titled "Regime Change on the Internet? Internet Governance after WGIG," and is the first public forum in the United States to review the U.N. Working Group's report. Read more about this symposium from the Syracuse press release here.

IGP Statement on The Future US Role in Internet Governance (pdf)

US Under Pressure Over ICANN (LightReading.com) - July 29

Larry King Wins UDRP Complaint

2005-07-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

In a decision released by WIPO today, CNN talk show host Larry King received a favorable decision in his case against the registrant of the domain name LarryKing.com. Panelist Madeleine De Cock Buning granted transfer of the domain name to King from well-known celebrity domain name registrant Alberta Hot Rods.

Larry King v. Alberta Hot Rods, WIPO Case D2005-0570 (July 21, 2005).

ICANN Vancouver Site Launched

2005-07-28T15:47:00.000-04:00

Circle ID, one of the local hosts of the 2005 ICANN Annual Meeting in Vancouver has launched the official meeting website at ICANNVancouver.ca. The meeting is scheduled for November 30-December 4, 2005.

While the host city of 2006 ICANN Annual Meeting (scheduled for October 30-November 3, 2006 somewhere in Latin America) has not yet been announced, I'm taking this opportunity to plug for Merida, Mexico.

New ACPA Decisions

2005-07-28T15:36:00.000-04:00

Evan Brown at Internetcases.com has posted his summaries of two new ACPA decisions, Fryer v. Brown & NBC Universal v. NBCUniversal.com. Read more here and here.

ICANN Board & GNSO Calls Today

2005-07-28T09:47:00.000-04:00

On the agenda for today's ICANN Board Call:

Consideration of .KZ Redelegation Request (Kazakhstan)
Consideration of .IQ Redelegation Request (Iraq)

In addition, the GNSO Council has a telephone conference today. On the agenda:

Item 1: Approval of minutes
GNSO Council meeting 12 July 2005

Item 2: Staff report
- legal text for WHOIS recommendation
- policy status of new gTLDS (review Board and GNSO Council decisions)
- summary of public comments received during the GNSO Public Forum

Item 3: Actions arising from ICANN Board meeting
- domain name hijacking report
- GNSO review

Item 4: Actions arising from IDN workshop
- Cary Karp to request any action required from the GNSO Council

Item 5: Actions arising from GNSO Public Forum in Luxembourg

Item 6: Creation of working group to review implementation of current
WHOIS policies related to Accuracy (e.g WHOIS data reminder policy, and
WHOIS problem reporting system)
- Niklas Lagergren proposed as chair
(note this would be a similar process to that used to review the
implementation/compliance with the transfers policy)

Item 7: Consideration of revised consensus recommendation with respect
to improving notification and consent for the use of contact data in the
Whois system
- updated text due from Bruce Tonkin in response to comments received so
far
- legal text required from ICANN legal team

Item 8: Consideration of final report on process for use by ICANN in
considering requests for consent and related contractual amendments to
allow changes in the architecture operation of a gTLD registry.
- for decision

Item 9: Any other business

Heatwave

2005-07-26T15:03:00.000-04:00

Currently getting caught up on e-mail and other obligations while trying to stay cool in DC's continuing heatwave. Real temperatures are near 100 degrees, heat indicies in the 115 degree range. It still beats snow and cold temps, but I'm ready for a return to the mid-80s.

Plenty of ICANN and domain name related news to post. Will try to return to normal blogging as the week progresses.

Light Blogging Rest of the Week

2005-07-12T18:00:00.000-04:00

I'm taking advantage of the weather and calendar to get out of town for a few days. Light blogging to follow for the remainder of the week. I will have an update in the morning on ICANN Meeting developments.

ICANN and Domain Name News Roundup

2005-07-12T17:02:00.000-04:00

ICANN Ombudsman Releases First Annual Report (ICANN) - July 12
ICANN blog: I Don't Like Mondays (TheRegister) - July 12
ICANN Approves .mobi Domain For Cell Phones (Information Week) - July 12
mTLD Announces Mobile Phone Domain (pcadvisor.co.uk) - July 12
Mobile Top Level Domain Gets ICANN Nod (TheInquirer) - July 12
ICANN To Stop Regulating .Net Domain Prices (Webhosting.info) - July 12
Domains Gone Mobile (InternetNews.com) - July 12
GMO Acquires Domain Registrar (LightReading.com) - July 12
.AERO Seeks A New Runway (ICANN.blog) - July 12
Melb IT Flags Domain Name Locking (TheAge.com.au) - July 12

Realtime Captioning ICANN

2005-07-12T11:35:00.000-04:00

ICANN is again posting realtime captioning of public meetings from Luxembourg. This helpful service was offered at the Mar del Plata meeting in April. First up is the captioning from yesterday's "Public Discussion to Provide Input into the ICANN Operational Plan and Budget for July 2005 to June 2006". Other realtime captioning will be posted on the ICANN Luxembourg site as the meetings progress.

Domain Name Hijacking Report

2005-07-12T11:29:00.000-04:00

ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee has released its report on Domain Name Hijacking. Read the report here.

"The SSAC found that domain name hijacking incidents are commonly the result of flaws in registration and related processes, failure to comply with the transfer policy and poor administration of domain names. The report recommends ten key actions including implementation of improved auditing and compliance measures, and additional measures to protect registration information from misuse by would-be hijackers, as well as implementation of emergency procedures to assist in the urgent restoration of a domain name."

ICANN Meeting Underway

2005-07-11T08:58:00.000-04:00

The ICANN Meeting in Luxembourg is well underway. Bret Fausett's always informative ICANN.blog has several podcasts from sessions yesterday and today, including the New TLD Workshop and the ALAC Meeting.

On the calendar for today:

Welcome Ceremony * (9:00-10:00) (Main Room)
GNSO Constituency Meetings
Cross Constituency Meeting - Commercial and Business Users, ISP, IP Interests (10:00-13:00) (Salle F)
gTLD Registries Constituency Meeting (10:00-15:00) (Salle H)
Registrars Constituency Meeting (Salle C)
Commercial and Business Users Constituency Meeting (14:00-16:00) (Salle F)
Intellectual Property Interests Constituency Meeting (14:30) (Salle 4)
Internet Service Providers and Connectivity Providers Constituency Meeting (Salle 2)
Noncommercial Users Constituency Meeting (Salle 3)
ccNSO Members Meeting * (10:00-18:00) (Salle B)
At-Large Round Table Discussion (Open Session) (Salle 10)
GAC Working Groups (Closed Session) (10:00-13:00) (Salle A)
GAC Plenary Meeting (Closed Session) (14:30-16:00) (Salle A)
GAC Open Session (16:00-17:30) (Salle A)
Public Discussion to Provide Input into the ICANN Operational Plan and Budget for July 2005 to June 2006 * (17:30-18:30) (Main Room) Updated Time
Gala Dinner

News roundup:

ICANN blog: De Lux Appointment (TheRegister) - July 11
Will .Net Fees Rise After 2006? (Silicon.com) - July 11
VeriSign Can Raise .Net Prices in 2007 (Netcraft.com) - July 11
Will The UN Run The Internet (CNET) - July 11
Google Wins Typosquatting Ruling (TheRegister) - July 11
Syniverse Technologies Enters Joint Venture mTLD (Press Release) - July 11

Upcoming WIPO UDRP Workshop and Resources

2005-07-07T17:20:00.000-04:00

WIPO is hosting a two day advanced workshop on Domain Name Dispute Resolution: Update on Practices and Precedents, October 20 and 21, 2005 in Geneva, Switzerland. Information on the workshop is available here.

"While the Center's previous domain name Workshops provided an introduction to the overall structure of the UDRP, the new Advanced Workshop will focus on the trends of WIPO Panel decisions on the most important substantive and procedural issues under the UDRP. Thus, in addition to those wishing to gain insight into the UDRP mechanism, this Advanced Workshop is of particular interest to those who have been or who may become involved in UDRP proceedings and to past Workshop participants. The Advanced Workshop also represents an opportunity for registrars and ccTLD administrators to increase their knowledge of UDRP decisions."

In addition, WIPO "is now making available the WIPO Electronic Case Facility (WIPO ECAF). WIPO ECAF allows parties and other actors in a case under the WIPO Mediation, Arbitration and Expedited Arbitration Rules to submit communications electronically into an online docket." For more information, you may visit the WIPO ECAF here.

All Eyes on London

2005-07-07T10:44:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's cheers have turned to tragedy today after several bombs exploded in the London Underground and on at least one bus. My thoughts go out to those in London and in the UK.

A comprehensive Wikipedia entry on the blasts is available here.

ICANN has issued a statement on the attacks and on travel to next week's meeting in Luxembourg. Text of the statement is below:

STATEMENT CONCERNING LONDON BOMBINGS AND ICANN MEETING IN LUXEMBOURG

Friends and Colleagues,

There have been multiple bomb blasts in London this morning. At the time of writing, it does not look like the airports have been hit, but clearly the public transport system in London itself has been.

The advice we have received is that if you are transiting through London on the way to the ICANN meeting in Luxembourg, please do not go to central London. If you have a stopover, please stay at hotels at the airport or west of the city.

At the moment the airports are not affected and we understand that flights are not being diverted but one should expect heightened security and hence delays at British airports.

If members of the community have any questions, please direct them to traveltolux@icann.org

Arrangements in Luxembourg continue as planned.

Paul Twomey
President & CEO
7 July 2005

Catching Up

2005-07-06T15:16:00.000-04:00

The ICANN Meeting in Luxembourg is rapidly approaching. The meeting will be held next week, July 11-15, in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The local host website is available here.

On June 28, the ICANN Board met by conference call and approved the contract for .MOBI and agreed to enter into technical negotiations with Telnic for the .TEL sTLD. The Board also approved "US$ 784,785.37 in connection with legal services provided to ICANN during January through April 2005." That is a big number.

Article roundup:

Interesting ICANN Details (ITWorld.com) - July 6
Surprise US announcement on Internet Oversight Causes Controversy (Digital Media Asia) - July 6
Global Name Registry Releases Whois II (Webhosting.info) - July 6

London 2012

2005-07-06T15:02:00.000-04:00

By now everyone knows London has been chosen by the International Olympic Committee to be the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games. With the close and surprising victory over front-runner Paris, the London organizers are now tasked with building venues and implementing the host plan for 2012. One thing sure to keep the London Organizing Committee busy will be rampant cybersquatting on London 2012 domain names. Fortunately for London, it can look to the body of decisions issued in favor of the IOC and its National Olympic Committees and host cities in protecting the City + Year Date Marks in domain names on the Internet.

Most recently, the IOC and the Beijing Organizing Committee for the XXIX Olympiad prevailed in a National Arbitration Forum decision against the registrant of the domain name Beijing2008.org. See Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad & International Olympic Committee v. GBS Data System, NAF Case FA479544 (June 28, 2005). Panelist John Upchurch determined that "[f]or over a century, IOC, its National Olympic Committees and local organizing committees have consistently taken measures to protect the “city + year” marks associated with the Olympic Games."

Further, "Complainant has provided overwhelming evidence that Beijing was recognized internationally as the front-runner to host the 2008 Olympic Games at the time of Respondent’s registration, and that Respondent had actual knowledge of Complainant’s strong connection to the BEIJING 2008 mark when it registered the disputed domain name. Respondent, in not submitting a response, has done nothing to rebut Complainant’s assertions or provide any alternate explanation, so the Panel gives Complainant’s arguments a strong presumption of accuracy. Thus, the Panel finds that registration of a domain name that is identical to another’s mark despite actual or constructive knowledge of another’s rights in the mark is tantamount to bad faith registration and use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(a)(iii)."

The Beijing2008.org decision, along with an earlier win in favor of the IOC and the Athens 2004 Olympic Organizing Committee against the domain name Athens2004.org as well as others, should help the IOC and London organizers against domain name infringement on the Internet.

Justice O'Connor Retires

2005-07-01T10:57:00.000-04:00

This is shaping up to be a big Friday. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor just announced her retirement. Congress is on recess until July 11, but the battle over the nominee to succeed Justice O'Connor has already started.

US Statement on Internet Governance & Reaction

2005-07-01T09:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday the Department of Commerce released "U.S. Principles on the Internet’s Domain Name and Addressing System". A Washington Post article on the statement is available here. Statement also available below:

The United States Government intends to preserve the security and stability of the Internet’s Domain Name and Addressing System (DNS). Given the Internet's importance to the world’s economy, it is essential that the underlying DNS of the Internet remain stable and secure. As such, the United States is committed to taking no action that would have the potential to adversely impact the effective and efficient operation of the DNS and will therefore maintain its historic role in authorizing changes or modifications to the authoritative root zone file.

Governments have legitimate interest in the management of their country code top level domains (ccTLD). The United States recognizes that governments have legitimate public policy and sovereignty concerns with respect to the management of their ccTLD. As such, the United States is committed to working with the international community to address these concerns, bearing in mind the fundamental need to ensure stability and security of the Internet’s DNS.

ICANN is the appropriate technical manager of the Internet DNS. The United States continues to support the ongoing work of ICANN as the technical manager of the DNS and related technical operations and recognizes the progress it has made to date. The United States will continue to provide oversight so that ICANN maintains its focus and meets its core technical mission.

Dialogue related to Internet governance should continue in relevant multiple fora. Given the breadth of topics potentially encompassed under the rubric of Internet governance there is no one venue to appropriately address the subject in its entirety. While the United States recognizes that the current Internet system is working, we encourage an ongoing dialogue with all stakeholders around the world in the various fora as a way to facilitate discussion and to advance our shared interest in the ongoing robustness and dynamism of the Internet. In these fora, the United States will continue to support market-based approaches and private sector leadership in Internet development broadly.

"The Bush Administration intends to preserve the security and stability of the Internet’s domain name system (DNS), continues to support ICANN and will work with the international community to find appropriate ways to address Internet governance issues."

The World Summit on the Information Society continues in Tunis November 16-18, 2005.

International Reaction:

ICANN Needs International Rescue (ZDNet Comment) - July 1
US Reasserts Control Over Domain Names (ZDNet UK) - July 1
US Keeps Keys To Domain Names (Silicon.com) - July 1
US Holds Onto Key Internet Role (BBC) - July 1
Bush Administration Annexes Internet (TheRegister) - July 1
US Appears To Affirm Its Authority Over The Internet (International Herald Tribune) - July 1
Corante on US Announcement (Corante) - July 1
Froomkin on US Announcement (Discourse.net) - July 1

Beer Container Keeper-Colder TM Dispute Spills Over Into Federal Court

2005-06-30T14:13:00.000-04:00

An Indianapolis company claims trademark rights in the generic term "koozie", which in the Midwest and other areas of the U.S. means "foam beverage sleeve intended to keep cans cold." The company, Norwood Promotional Products, threatended suit against North Carolina home-based Internet business Kustom Koozies over its use of "koozie" in its tradename and on its products. Kustom Koozies filed a declaratory judgment action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Norwood also filed an action against Kustom Koozies in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

According to the article in today's Indianapolis Star, Judge Terrence Boyle "must consider whether the word koozie is now a generic term or is inextricably associated with a brand name, as in Xerox and Band-Aid."

While Norwood owns a U.S. Trademark Registration for "Koozie Kup", it has been unable to claim exclusive rights over the word "koozie" with the USPTO. Norwood does not own the domain names Koozie.com/.net/.org either.

In a decision issued yesterday by Judge McKinney in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Kustom Koozie's motion to dismiss or transfer venue was denied. Norwood Operating Company v. KustomKoozies LLC, 05-CV-00229 (S.D. Ind. June 29, 2005).

So, as you enjoy a frosty (or other refreshing canned) beverage over the Fourth of July Weekend, take a moment to ponder the trademark battle over the "koozie" in your hand keeping your beverage of choice cold.

A Comment on CPR, and Mos Def Wins MosDef.com Decision

2005-06-29T17:30:00.000-04:00

The CPR Institute For Dispute Resolution is one of four ICANN-approved domain name dispute resolution providers. CPR has been handling UDRP cases since its approval on May 22, 2000, although its UDRP services are employed less frequently than the other domain name dispute resolution providers, WIPO, National Arbtriation Forum and Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre. For several years, information on CPR's UDRP services was available at http://www.cpradr.org/ICANN_Menu.htm, but when a new CPR website was launched last year, the ICANN arbitration section was moved to another location within the website.

Now, when you've finished with this post, visit the CPR website. Look on the front page - no reference to domain name disputes. Look on the site map - no reference to domain name disputes. Unless you type "domain names" in the search box, and click the first entry, http://www.cpradr.org/ICANN_Menu.asp?M=1.6.5, you won't easily find information about CPR's domain name dispute resolution services.

CPR should fix this, in case anyone is interested in using them as an alternative to one of the other providers. CPR could also post its decisions in html (there's nothing wrong with pdf, but...), to make it easier to reference decisions.

Of note, back in February, rapper and actor Mos Def received a favorable decision in his case against the registrant of MosDef.com. Dante Smith (p/k/a Mos Def) v. MosDef, CPR Case 0502-050224 (Feb. 24, 2005) (decision in pdf). Perhaps this was publicized somewhere else, but I don't remember running across this decision.

Stevie Wonder Wins UDRP Case

2005-06-29T12:39:00.000-04:00

Internationally famous award winning artist Stevie Wonder (real name Steveland Morris) was granted transfer of the domain name StevieWonder.com in a decision issued by the National Arbitration Forum. Stevland Morris a/k/a Stevie Wonder v. Unofficial Fan Club c/o Web Master, NAF Case FA453986 (June 22, 2005).

Timely additional submissions were filed by both sides. The registrant used the domain name as an unofficial fan club website with information on Stevie Wonder.

Panelist David Tatham issued a lengthy decision in the case with an interesting view of fan club websites. Ultimately, Tatham determines that the respondent did not use the domain name as a "fan site", stating "The Panel concludes that although the disputed domain name may be non-commercial, it has never acted as a fan site and it therefore fails the second of the requirements for legitimacy set by the WIPO Overview. The inevitable conclusion must be that Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interest in it and that paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy has been proved."

Melbourne Wins Commonwealth Games Domain

2005-06-29T12:32:00.000-04:00

The host city corporation for the 2006 Commonwealth Games prevailed in its UDRP case against the Australian registrant of the domain names Melbourne2006.com, Melbourne-2006.com, Melbourne2006.info, Melb2006.com and Melb2006.info in a WIPO decision released this morning. The registrant had offered to lease the domain names to the State of Victoria, Australia for 49,000 AUD during the 14 months surrounding the Commonwealth Games Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Corporation v. B & M Group of Companies Pty Ltd, WIPO Case D2005-0366 (June 16, 2005).

The decision is in line with other cases involving City and Year Date trademarks, including cases brought on behalf of the International Olympic Committee, its National Olympic Committees and host city organizations.

On Wednesday, July 6, the IOC will announce the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games.

News Roundup

2005-06-28T17:03:00.000-04:00

ICANN's Future Is Not In Danger (Domaines.info) - June 27

First .EU Accredited Registrars (via Nom de Domaine) - June 28

NBA Picks Got Game But Not Web Name (Herald-Sun.com) - June 28

Cybersquatting Hits Businesses For Top Dollar (SPTimes.RU) - June 28

WhenU Wins Landmark Internet Decision (Press Release) - June 28

Volvo Loses WIPO Decision Involving Auto Parts Reseller Website

2005-06-28T16:52:00.000-04:00

The holding company of Volvo's family of trademarks suffered a defeat in a WIPO decision released yesterday involving the domain name volvo-auto-body-parts-online.com. WIPO Panelist Torsten Bettinger determined that the registrant, who failed to submit a response to the complaint, had rights and legitimate interests in the domain name as part of its aftermarket auto parts business. The case is cited as Volvo Trademark Holding AB v. Auto Shivuk, WIPO Case D2005-0447 (June 8, 2005).

This case bears watching to see if Volvo challenges the result in federal court.

In a UDRP complaint filed during the same time period, Volvo won its case against Korean registrant SooKwan Park over the domain name MyVolvo.com. See Volvo Trademark Holding AB v. SooKwan Park, WIPO Case D2005-0448 (June 10, 2005).

Thursday Roundup

2005-06-23T16:58:00.000-04:00

A busy week frequently translates into light blogging. Here is a roundup of domain name and ICANN-related articles and UDRP decisions:

ICANN's New gTLD Strategy (ICANN)

Martin Schwimmer's comments on ICM Registry and .XXX (Trademark.blog.us) - June 23

Our Man In ICANN (Malaysia Star) - June 23

eNom, Inc. Announces It Will Be The Largest Domain Name Registrar To Offer The New .JOBS (Yahoo Press Release) - June 23

.JOBS Picks Momentum With Registrars (Webhosting.info) - June 23

Register.com Rejects RCM Bid (Forbes) - June 20

Shoemart.com UDRP Complaint Denied (NAF Case FA462916).

Radio Station Turned Off in UDRP Complaint (NAF Case FA473842). According to the Panel, "The granting of a distinctive call sign by the Federal Communications Commission is not a substitute for the granting of a registered trademark by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Given the size and population of the United States, there must be many thousands of radio stations with many permutations of letters in their various call signs."

Mega Monday Roundup

2005-06-20T14:45:00.000-04:00

It's been a long weekend, here is a roundup of domain name related news and articles:

ICANN Luxembourg Agenda

.Jobs Launches Start-Up Phase (Press Release) - June 19

.Jobs Website - EmployMedia.com
The Start-up Trade Name period for .jobs is currently running through August 19, 2005. If you are interested in registering a name, visit the EmployMedia website.

.Jobs Reserve List Policy:
"Our Reserve List Policy includes the following product categories. Domains in these categories are either registry-reserve or otherwise reserved from registration:
1. Occupational and industry (e.g., nursing.jobs, accounting.jobs, retail.jobs)
2. Geographic (e.g., cityname.jobs, regionname.jobs, zipcode.jobs)
3. ICANN-reserved (e.g., country.jobs, ICANN.jobs, iana.jobs)
4. Other generics (e.g., recruit.jobs, blow.jobs)

Names reserved into any of the above categories are not available for registration in the companyname.jobs category."

Registrations of .Jobs Domains Kick-Off (Webhosting.info) - June 20

Hope For Human Resources With .Jobs Domain (Circle ID) - June 20

Germans Coin Longest Domain Name In The World (Expatica) - June 20

Domain Name Debate Gets Underway (ComputerWeekly.com) - June 20

Domain Name Body Going Ahead (NZ Herald) - June 20

Nominet In Legal Tussle Over iTunes Domain (ABCMoney.co.uk) - June 18

Brits Turning Into Internet Sleuths (NetImperative) - June 20

Days Of Tax-Free Web Shopping May Be Over (CNET) - June 19

An Unavoidable Tax (Washington Post) - June 20

Checkmate in UDRP - Kasparov Wins Domain Name

2005-06-16T11:30:00.000-04:00

International chess champion Garry Kasparov prevailed in his UDRP face-off against registrant Mark Andreev over the registration and use of the domain name Kasparov.org. The decision was released by the National Arbitration Forum today. Garry Kasparov v. Mark Andreev, NAF Case FA471047 (June 16, 2005).

Kasparov successfully argued that his last name was protected as a trademark with the USPTO. The Panel also determined that the use of the domain name to direct visitors to third party websites and for click-through traffic constituted registration and use in bad faith.

American Arbitration Association .US Decisions

2005-06-15T15:28:00.000-04:00

Wow, who knew the American Arbitration Association had handled any .us cases? I happened to be reviewing the Neustar.us website and stumbled on two recent .us decisions published by the AAA. Here's what I found:

1. Federal Republic of Germany v. Gary Lauck; RJG Engineering Inc., AAA Case 494130000105 (May 3, 2005) (pdf)

The Panel ordered transfer of the domain names BundesrepublikDeutschland.us and FederalRepublicofGermany.us to the German Government. Germany also paid a $2,000 fee for going through AAA (compared to $1,300 for a complaint filed with the National Arbitration Forum). The Panel's decision is sparse, and it is difficult to tell whether the Panel reviewed other prior .us decisions before deciding in favor of the German Government. I don't question the outcome, just the length of the decision and lack of analysis found in other domain name decisions.

2. Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows, Inc. v. Kenneth Lima, AAA Case 4941300000205 (May 13, 2005) (pdf)

This case involved the domain name ringling.us. The Panelist, Peter Michaelson, is very familiar with .us and UDRP cases from his service as a panelist for the NAF and WIPO, and his decision reflected his experience with domain name disputes. Michaelson cited to a number of WIPO and NAF decisions and provided substantial reasoning for his decision. He granted transfer of the domain name to Ringling Bros.

The other interesting nugget in this case is that Ringling Bros. asked for reimbursement of its usDRP filing fees from the Respondent. I've never seen that before, and the provision is not in the usDRP or supplemental rules.

It would be helpful to know whether there were any pending .us cases with AAA. Unfortunately, the website is difficult to navigate. If a case list is there, I do not see one. Until AAA handles (or publishes) more .us decisions, it is tough to compare AAA with NAF.

American Red Cross Wins Typosquatting Case

2005-06-15T10:04:00.000-04:00

The American Red Cross prevailed in its case against an Argentine typosquatter in a UDRP decision involving the domain name wwwRedCross.org. The American National Red Cross v. Juan Carlos Linardi, NAF Case FA472006 (June 13, 2005).

Panelist Hon. Charles K. McCotter Jr. determined that the domain name was identical and confusingly similar to the statutorily protected RED CROSS mark, that the registrant had no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name and that he registered the domain name in bad faith. The RED CROSS mark is protected under 18 USC §706 and §917.

According to McCotter, "Respondent intentionally registered a domain name that incorporates Complainant’s RED CROSS mark for Respondent’s commercial gain. Respondent registered and used the domain name in bad faith pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv) because Respondent intentionally attempted to attract potential Internet users searching for Complainant to Respondent’s website by taking advantage of Internet users searching under Complainant’s RED CROSS mark and diverting them to Respondent’s commercial website."

This is another decision in a long line of UDRP cases decided in favor of the American Red Cross.

Registrant Keeps Elephant.com Domain in WIPO Decision

2005-06-15T09:50:00.000-04:00

This morning WIPO released a three-member panel decision in favor of the registrant of Elephant.com, denying the UDRP complaint brought by Admiral Insurance Services. Admiral Insurance Services Limited v. Mr. Adam Dicker, WIPO Case D2005-0241 (June 4, 2005).

The Panel agreed that the registrant had rights and legitimate interests in the domain name, finding "The Panel considers that the use of a generic domain name to provide information about the genus satisfies the requirements of paragraph 4(c)(i) of the Policy. It is unnecessary to decide whether this is so irrespective of whether a respondent knows of a complainant’s mark prior to acquiring the domain name because here the Panel has found the Respondent had no such knowledge."

Personally I do not think the Panel weighed the genericness of the word "elephant" strongly enough in this case, and I am surprised the Panel did not touch on a possible reverse domain name hijacking claim in this case. In any event, the registrant retains control of the domain name, and the Complainant is free to use its "ELEPHANT" mark on the Internet in other TLDs.

Friday Roundup

2005-06-10T09:52:00.000-04:00

Motel Owner Bites Back as Sandwich War Intensifies (TimesOnline.co.uk) - June 10
Neustar IPO Set At 25 Million Shares, $18-20/Share (TwinCities.com) - June 10
VeriSign To Manage .Net Registry 6 More Years (Reuters) - June 10
Register.com Returns To Compliance With NASDAQ Listing (BusinessWire) - June 8
Venture Capital Rediscovers The Consumer Internet (New York Times, subscription required) - June 10
Utah Sued Over Internet Porn Law (Daily Herald) - June 10

Respondent Keeps TrivialPursuits.net in WIPO Decision

2005-06-10T09:08:00.000-04:00

The trademark owner of the well-known TRIVIAL PURSUIT game suffered a defeat in its case against the registrant of TrivialPursuits.net, in a WIPO decision released this morning. Horn Abbot International Limited v. Ian McMillan, WIPO Case D2005-0198 (May 25, 2005).

The respondent claimed he registered the domain name to write about "trivial pursuits".

Panelist Warwick Smith agreed, stating "The onus of proving bad faith remains on the Complainant, and at the end of the day the Panel is not brought to the point of being unable to conceive of any plausible use of the domain name by the Respondent which would not be illegitimate. Some people who use the Internet do appear to be interested in writing and reading about unimportant and apparently pointless recreational and other human activities or pursuits which the Panel thinks can fairly be described as “trivial”, and if it was the Respondent’s intention to eventually launch a website dealing with such “trivial pursuits” the Panel is not persuaded that any such use would necessarily involve infringement of the Complainant’s trademarks, or any other illegality. He says that was his intention, and in an administrative proceeding such as this, the Panel is not in a position to dismiss that statement as being clearly false, in particular when taking into account the descriptive character of the disputed domain name."

VeriSign Keeps .Net

2005-06-09T08:14:00.000-04:00

It's official. ICANN has announced that VeriSign will retain control of the .net registry for an additional six years. The decision was made at Tuesday's ICANN Board Call. According to the press release, "[i]n taking this action ICANN’s Board considered the entire RFP Process, an independent evaluator’s report, Internet community comments and the terms of the new agreement."

American Eagle Outfitters Loses UDRP Case

2005-06-07T16:18:00.000-04:00

In a decision released June 3, American Eagle Outfitters has lost a UDRP case against the registrant of the domain name AmericanEagleStores.com. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. and Retail Royalty Company v. Covanta Corporation, NAF Case FA465210 (June 3, 2005).

Panelist Charles K. McCotter Jr. determined that American Eagle Outfitters "failed to establish that the words 'American Eagle,' apart from the registered mark as a whole, have acquired a secondary meaning such that the relevant public exclusively associates the words with Complainant as a source of services. Id. Nor has Complainant established secondary meaning in the phrase 'American Eagle Stores'."

So far Respondent Covanta Corporation's website is not available on the Internet. This case may not be over, as American Eagle Outfitters may challenge the decision in federal court.

ICANN Board Call Today

2005-06-07T09:46:00.000-04:00

The second ICANN Board call of June 2005 is scheduled for today. On the agenda:
- Approval of Minutes
- Proposed .Net Registry Agreement
- Proposed .Mobi Registry Agreement (please fix the errors in the Appendices)
- Strategic Plan

The next Board Meeting is set for July 11-15 in Luxembourg.

.MOBI Contract Completed

2005-06-04T06:21:00.000-04:00

Late yesterday ICANN published the proposed contract for the .MOBI sTLD. See: http://www.icann.org/tlds/agreements/mobi/mobi-registry-agreement-03jun05.pdf

Interesting nuggets include:
1. Sunrise period for trademark owners with trademark validation process (the WIPO recommendation for new gTLDs)
2. After Sunrise, .MOBI will be first come, first served with the UDRP available for domain name disputes.
3. Premium names will be sold at registry auction (such as travel.mobi, auto.mobi, sex.mobi, etc)
4. Major worldwide city names (and probably country names as well) will be registry reserved
5. mobiGuard restricted level Whois option proposed
Much more available at http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-03jun05.htm

The Agreement will be submitted to the Board for approval. The next Board meeting is set for Tuesday, June 7.

Supersized Friday Roundup

2005-06-03T13:58:00.000-04:00

This has been a big week for Internet news. On Wednesday, the ICANN Board approved the application for a .xxx sponsored Top-Level Domain. WIPO released its recommendation for uniform intellectual property protection in new gTLDs. Since then, there have been hundreds of articles on ICANN and .xxx. A selection of news coverage and blog entries is available below:

Some Notes on the .XXX Top-Level Domain (Circle ID) - June 2
.xxx Approval A Positive Sign (ICANNWatch) - June 3, see the quote: "Yes, you heard it here first, Mueller praises ICANN!"
.XXX Domain Approved (Washington Post) - June 3

In other sTLD news, Tralliance President Ron Andruff has an update on .travel on Hospitalitynet.org:
May 2005 ".travel" Update

According to the article, .travel is prepping for limited launch (Sept.-Nov. 2005). Countries will also be given priority to register "country names (in English and in their respective national languages), cities, town, and place names (i.e., important geographies, heritage sites, sacred places, distinct economies, states, provinces, islands, cities, etc.) The priority right will last approximately nine months and will give each country the ability to register their specific names accordingly."

Other news articles:

A Battle For The Soul Of The Internet (ZDNet) - June 3
Geographic Web Domains Anger WA Tourism Body (ABC.net.au) - June 3
Falwell or Fallwell? (Augusta Free Press) - June 1
Suburban Sprawl Moves Into Cyberspace (Sydney Morning Herald) - June 1

New UDRP Decisions:

American Heart Association Wins Domain (NAF Case FA463122) - May 31
Disney Wins PiratesoftheCaribbean2.com Case (NAF Case FA464445) - May 31
Complainant Loses AHAVA.COM Case (NAF Case FA464505) - May 31

WIPO Weighs In on IP Protection in New gTLDs

2005-06-02T11:47:00.000-04:00

Lost in the shuffle of yesterday's ICANN announcement is this report from WIPO on the need for uniform mechanisms to regulate domain name registration in new gTLDs.

According to the WIPO recommendation: "Experience shows that the need for IP protection mechanisms is most tangible in open gTLDs, which are not subject to clearly defined and policed registration restrictions, and which accept domain name applications from the general public. The fewer restrictions and prior verification requirements associated with the registration process, the greater the risk of abusive registrations."

WIPO is calling for a "single uniform preventive IP protection mechanism across all new gTLDs. Specifically, new gTLDs would be required to offer IP owners the option of registering their protected identifiers during a specified period before opening registration to the general public." In short, WIPO recommends new gTLDs employ a Sunrise mechanism prior to the launch of a gTLD. This procedure may work well for some TLDs, but registry operators should be given the flexibility to decide for themselves whether they wish to employ an alternative procedure that will provide similar opportunties to IP owners without using a Sunrise process.

ICANN Approves .XXX Application

2005-06-02T08:58:00.000-04:00

Yesterday ICANN approved the addition of the sTLD .XXX. ICANN will now enter into commercial and technical negotiations with ICM Registry to operate the voluntary .XXX sTLD. ICM's Press Release is available here.

".XXX will be a sponsored TLD specifically for adult oriented websites willing to adhere to a set of industry best practices. Among other things, creation of a top level domain for adult websites will help protect children from exposure to online pornography and also have a positive impact on online adult entertainment through voluntary efforts of the industry."

The International Foundation For Online Responsibility (IFFOR) will serve as the sponsor and policy-making authority for .XXX.

Article roundup on .xxx:

Stage Set For .XXX Internet Address (CNN) - June 2

ICANN Turns Its Attention To .XXX Adult Domains (PCPRO.CO.UK) - June 2

.XXX TLD Near Reality (AVN Online) - June 1

Friday Roundup - Enjoy the Long Weekend

2005-05-27T14:13:00.000-04:00

Today is the traditional start of Summer in the United States: the Friday leading into Memorial Day Weekend. Most offices in the US will be closed Monday, so plan accordingly.

Sunday also marks the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race. Back on June 11, 2003, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway prevailed in a UDRP case against the registrant of IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. To capture the true flavor of the 500, don't watch it on tv, but listen to it on the radio as you enjoy the first weekend of Summer outdoors.

Other news:

iTunes 'cybersquatting' row threatens Nominet authority (Silicon.com) - May 27

AOL Hit With Split Decision in UDRP Case (NAF Case FA463099) - May 27

4th Circuit Hearing Today on Fallwell.com Domain Name

2005-05-26T16:10:00.000-04:00

This morning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held an oral argument in the case of the domain name Fallwell.com. In August 2004, U.S. District Court Judge Claude Hilton granted summary judgment in favor of televangelist Jerry Falwell in an action brought by Christopher Lamparello, the registrant of the criticism website Fallwell.com. Lamparello appealed, and a copy of his Appellant brief is available here.

For more, see: Website Dispute Center of Hearing (NewsAdvance.com) - May 26

WIPO Denies UHJ.net Complaint

2005-05-26T15:26:00.000-04:00

In a decision released earlier this week, WIPO Panelist Debra Stanek rejected a UDRP complaint brought by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States over the domain name UHJ.net. National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States v. Second International Bahá’í Council, WIPO Case D2005-0214 (May 8, 2005).

The Complainant argued that the letters "UHJ" stood for Universal House of Justice, which apparently is akin to The Vatican of the Bahá’í faith. Panelist Stanek determined that the letters "UHJ" were not identical or confusingly similar to the Complainant's mark. "The Panel finds that Complainant has not met its burden of establishing that Respondent’s domain name is confusingly similar to a mark in which Complainant has rights."

New UDRP Decisions

2005-05-25T14:08:00.000-04:00

Several new decisions issued by the National Arbitration Forum are worth noting this afternoon:

1. Meguiar's, Inc. v. Target Online Inc., NAF Case FA435003 (May 20, 2005). A split three-member panel denied transfer of the domain name CarCrazy.com to the complainant, Meguiar's, Inc. The majority determined that Target Online had rights and legitimate interests in the domain name and did not register and use the domain name in bad faith.

2. Psichometrics, LLC v. Wolfwurks, LLC and James Russell, NAF Case FA451924 (May 23, 2005). Panelist Bruce Meyerson rejected a complaint brought against the domain name psichometrics.com, finding that the Complainant had not established that the disputed domain name was identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant had rights. The Respondent, the former 51% owner of the company, was allowed to retain ownership of the domain name. The dispute is likely headed to court.

Monday Morning Update

2005-05-23T09:48:00.000-04:00

Plenty of domain name related events this week. Two Domain Name Conventions: the Domain Roundtable Wednesday-Friday in Seattle and the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. West 2005 Tuesday-Friday in Las Vegas.
Press Release on Domain Roundtable available here.

Other news:
Commercial Geographic Domain Names Soon (SMH.com.au) - May 23
Losing Website Is Bad For Business (DetNews.com) - May 21
Finding The Right Domain Name (CrainsCleveland.com) - May 20
Major Domain Names Available in Bankruptcy Sale (Press Release) - May 18

Proposed ICANN Budget Released

2005-05-18T10:20:00.000-04:00

Late yesterday ICANN published its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2005-2006. This is a must-read document.

Panelist Says ThumpRecords.com Complaint Outside Scope of Policy

2005-05-16T14:59:00.000-04:00

In a UDRP decision issued May 11, 2005, National Arbitration Forum Panelist Sandra Franklin denied a complaint brought on behalf of Santa Monica-based Thump Records over the domain name ThumpRecords.com. Panelist Franklin found that the complaint was a contractual dispute, outside the scope of the UDRP. Thump Records, Inc. v. WebPros, NAF Case FA446911 (May 11, 2005).

"Panels have determined, consistent with the aforementioned, that certain issues exceed the scope of the Policy and therefore are to be more properly resolved in courts of law. For example, Panels have held that contractual disputes, trademark infringement, breaches of fiduciary duties, employer/employee disputes, and other business disputes are issues that exceed the scope of the Policy...In the instant case, Complainant is asserting that Respondent is violating contractual obligations that it agreed to when it began hosting Complainant’s website located at the disputed domain name. Complainant concludes that this breach of contract is the sort of issue this Panel should properly resolve. This Panel disagrees."

The case is likely headed to federal court in California.

Friday Roundup

2005-05-13T13:46:00.000-04:00

June Start For .AU Geographic Domain Ballots (ZDNet.com.au) - May 13
.Travel - A New Domain For the Global Travel Industry (ExpressTravelandTourism.com) - May 13
TheGlobe.com Completes Acquisition of Tralliance Corporation (BusinessWire) - May 12
Erie Politicians Fuming About Website (Pennlive.com) - May 12

New UDRP Filings:

American National Red Cross v. wwwRedCross.org, NAF Case FA472006.
Wine-Spectator.com, NAF Case FA470935.
Kasparov.org, NAF Case FA471047.
Pictionary.com, NAF Case FA473071.
eBillyJoel.com, NAF Case FA472063.

Revisiting the STOP

2005-05-12T11:22:00.000-04:00

As new sTLDs prepare for introduction, it is important to revisit the examples set by prior TLD launch policies. In 2002, I published a series of articles and pages on UDRPlaw.net devoted to the Start-up Trademark Opposition Policy (STOP) for .biz. Since I am transitioning those pages over to the UDRPlaw blog, I thought I would take this opportunity to publish the original post with updated hyperlinks to recent research.

Readers interested in STOP should also review WIPO's recent article: New Generic Top-Level Domains: Intellectual Property Considerations

(From UDRPlaw.net/STOPresources.htm, last updated Dec. 31, 2002):

A total of 338 STOP cases were filed with WIPO, which issued 268 STOP decisions. WIPO Panelists granted transfer to the Complainant 107 times (counting one split decision), for a 39.9% success rate. A high number of cases involved common and generic words. One case was suspended, WIPO Case DBIZ2002-00197, involving the domain names Racebook.biz, Dogracing.biz and Pachinko.biz.

A complete list of STOP complaints filed in 2001 is available on the WIPO website. 53 STOP cases were filed with WIPO in 2001, and seventeen cases were terminated before a decision was issued.

The WIPO STOP cases were decided by at least 52 different panelists (this number is probably higher, given the large number of decisions issued in Asian languages):

Dennis A. Foster (14)
31 Korean language decisions, unable to determine panelist
François Dessemontet (10)
Tony Willoughby (11)
Edward C. Chiasson, Q.C. (10)
M. Scott Donahey (10)
Philip N. Argy (10)
Geert Glas (8)
Hon. Sir Ian Barker, Q.C. (8)
Alan L. Limbury (9)
Frederick M. Abbott (10)
Dr. Gerd F. Kunze (9)
D.J. Ryan (7)
A.H. Brown (6)
Christopher Tootal (6)
James Bridgeman (7)
Knud Wallberg (5)
David H. Bernstein (5)
Wolter Wefers Bettink (6)
Dr. Thomas Legler (6)
John Swinson (6)
Peter G. Nitter (6)
Stantiforth Ricketson (6)
Dr. Torsten Bettinger (6)
Mark V.B. Partridge (5)
Warwick Alexander Smith (5)
Dr. Clive N.A. Trotman (4)
Jonathan Hudis (3)
William R. Cornish (3)
Roderick M. Thompson (3)
Hugues G. Richard (3)
P-E Petter Rindforth (3)
4 Chinese language decisions, unable to determine panelist
Hariram Jayaram (2)
Andrea Mondini (2)
Henry Olsson (1)
Cecil O.D. Branson, Q.C. (1)
Jose Carlos Erdozain (1)
Clive Elliott (1)
Jordan S. Weinstein (1)
Roberto A. Bianchi (2)
David Perkins (1)
Bernard F. Meyer-Hauser (1)
Angelica Lodigiani (1)
Gunnar Karnell (1)
Jonas Gulliksson (1)
Marylee Jenkins (1)
Clive Duncan Thorne (1)
Michael Charles Pryles (1)
Nick Gardner (1)
Thomas H. Webster (1)
Boh Young Hwang (1)

Complete List of WIPO STOP Decisions

Complete List of NAF STOP Decisions

Over the same period, 343 STOP cases were filed with the National Arbitration Forum. The NAF issued 319 STOP decisions, and complainants prevailed 182 times (53.1% success rate).

The NAF STOP cases were decided by 56 different panelists:

Hon. Charles K. McCotter, Jr. (37)
Sandra Franklin (30 cases)
Hon. Ralph Yachnin (Ret.) (22)
James Alan Crary (18)
Tyrus R. Atkinson, Jr. (17)
Judge Harold Kalina (Ret.) (15)
Hon. Carolyn Marks Johnson (16)
James A. Carmody (13)
James P. Buchele (11)
John J. Upchurch (10)
Alan L. Limbury (9)
M. Kelly Tillery (9)
Judge Irving H. Perluss (Ret.) (10)
Anne M. Wallace, Q.C. (6)
Bruce E. Meyerson (6)
G. Gervaise Davis III (6)
Judge Richard B. Wickersham (6)
Hon. Paul A. Dorf (Ret.) (5)
Daniel B. Banks, Jr. (4)
Jacques A. Léger, Q.C. (4)
Judge Karl V. Fink (Ret.) (4)
R. Glen Ayers (3)
Robert T. Pfeuffer (3)
Peter L. Michaelson (4)
David A. Einhorn (3)
Estella S. Gold (3)
M. Scott Donahey (2)
Fernando Triana (2)
Hon. Roger P. Kerans (3)
David S. Safran (2)
Luz Helena Villamil-Jiménez (2)
Jaime Delgado (2)
Min S. Xu, Esq. (2)
P. Jay Hines (2)
Edward C. Chiasson, Q.C. (2)
Hughes G. Richard (2)
Clive Elliott (2)
David P. Miranda (2)
Louis E. Condon (2)
Rodney C. Kyle (2)
David E. Sorkin (1)
Robert R. Merhige, Jr. (Ret.) (1)
Jeffrey Samuels (1)
Moon Sung Lee (1)
Hon. H. Curtis Meanor (1)
Herman D. Michels (2)
Dennis A. Foster (1)
Tom Arnold (1)
Richard Hill (1)
Linda M. Byrne (1)
Houston Putnam Lowry (1)
Tom Arnold (1)
Hon. Charles A. Kuechenmeister (Ret.) (1)
Hon. Rudolph J. Gerber (1)
Robert A. Faschler (1)

The UDRP and Switzerland

2005-05-11T15:22:00.000-04:00

Three recent .ch ccTLD decisions have been issued by WIPO:

Hitachi.ch (Transferred)
Pitu.ch (Transferred)
Backstage.ch (Complaint denied)

More on the MorganFreeman.com Decision

2005-05-11T15:11:00.000-04:00

Here's a roundup of news articles discussing the MorganFreeman.com decision, starting with the CircleID article written by fellow Little Giant Evan Brown.

Freeman Is Master of His Domain (Name) - Zap2It, May 10
Oscar Winner Freeman Wins Rights to Cyberspace Name - Scotsman, May 10
Freeman Wins Cybersquatter Battle - BBC, May 10
Freeman Wins Rights to Name in Cyberspace - Miami Herald, May 10

Morgan Freeman Wins Name in UDRP Decision

2005-05-10T09:44:00.000-04:00

Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman prevailed in his UDRP case against the registrant of MorganFreeman.com in a decision released this morning by WIPO. Morgan Freeman v. Mighty LLC, WIPO Case D2005-0263 (Apr. 28, 2005).

Freeman provided evidence that Mighty LLC owns over 400 domain names identical to the names of other celebrities and sports organizations. Further, "In this case the Panel finds it evidenced that the public associates the name 'Morgan Freeman' with the Complainant's movies and entertainment services. Moreover, albeit more relevant under the bad faith discussion below, Complainant's common law rights in the mark MORGAN FREEMAN existed long before the domain name at issue was registered."

Domain Name Business is Booming

2005-05-09T10:06:00.000-04:00

An article from E-Commerce Times (available at http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/Domain-Name-Business-Booming-in-Post-Dot-Com-Era-129003WWAIE9.xhtml) highlights the growth in domain name sales from '03 to '04. An important aspect of the current boom is the growing number of registrants who are trading in domain names in new (or recently opened) TLD extensions. Sales of .biz, .info, and .us domain names grew in '04, and look to continue to boom in '05.

For those interested in learning more about the booming domain name business, head to Seattle for the Domain Roundtable, May 25-27, 2005 (more info available here: http://www.domainroundtable.com/).

Friday Roundup

2005-05-06T09:53:00.000-04:00

Larry Seltzer has an interested article titled ICANN Sticks Up For Trademark Owners. The article quotes Martin Schwimmer of the Trademark Blog.

Europe Annexes Caribbean Islands (TheRegister.co.uk) - May 6

Country Store, 'Squatter Settle (RutlandHerald.com) - May 5

Phishers Turn DNS Against Authorities (Techworld.com) - May 6

L.L. Bean Wins LLBean.org UDRP Decision (NAF Case FA449421) - May 5

Disney Celebrates 50th Anniversary with UDRP Victory in MagicKingdom.info case (NAF Case FA444432) - May 3

Recent UDRP Filings

2005-05-05T14:14:00.000-04:00

Here is a selection of some of the recently commenced UDRP cases with WIPO and the National Arbitration Forum:

StevieWonder.com, recommenced May 4, 2005, NAF Case FA453986.
1800HomeDepot.com, commenced May 2, 2005, NAF Case FA467966.
SearsTower.net, commenced April 26, 2005, NAF Case FA465281.
Network Solutions LLC (7 different UDRP cases), WIPO Cases D2005-0450-0456.
ESPN v. ESPNNEWS.COM, WIPO Case D2005-0444.
HUN.COM, WIPO Case D2005-0406.

Registrar Earnings

2005-05-05T10:19:00.000-04:00

Several registrars have released quarterly earnings reports over the past couple of days:

Tucows Reports Continued Strong Results for 1Q '05 (PR Newswire) - May 4

Register.com Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2004 (BusinessWire.com) - May 4

Other registrar news:

Network Solutions Wins Best Customer Service Organization Award (PR Newswire) - May 4

Happy Cinco de Mayo: UDRP Edition

2005-05-05T09:37:00.000-04:00

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, here is a selection of Mexico-related UDRP decisions:

Tequilas del Señor, S.A. de C.V. v. PubliSystem.net y Carmen Martínez, WIPO Case D2004-0630 (Oct. 19, 2004).

Consejo de Promoción Turística de México, S.A. de C.V. v. Latin America Telecom Inc., WIPO Case D2004-0242 (July 19, 2004).

Maya Tours v. Eastwind Group, NAF Case FA358059 (Dec. 27, 2004).

ICANN Board Meeting Today

2005-05-03T09:40:00.000-04:00

Big conference call today for the ICANN Board. Key items on the agenda: .net redelegation discussion, the .asia sTLD application and the .xxx sTLD application.

Tuesday News Roundup:
Global Poker Game For the Internet Goes On (TheRegister.co.uk) - May 3

Etisalat deploys core Internet element to enhance Internet performance throughout region (AMEInfo.com) - May 3

Keeping Domain Disputes Out of Court (NZHerald.co.nz) - May 3

Alabanza Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary (WebHostDir.com) - May 3

GoDaddy's Ad Agency is Bounced (AZCentral.com) - May 3

Nominet Acts Over Firevision Debacle (TheRegister.co.uk) - May 3

Friday Roundup

2005-04-29T10:30:00.000-04:00

Combined Whois Task Force Report: ICANN's GNSO Opens Public Comment Forum (ICANN) - Apr. 28

Upcoming ICANN Board Meeting Agenda for Tuesday, May 3:
Special Meeting of the Board:

Approval of Minutes
.NET Discussion
sTLD Discussions, including .ASIA and .XXX
Strategic Plan Discussion
Other Business

BenedictXVI.com Owner Donates Domain Name to Charity (Washington Post) - Apr. 28

The Planet Receives ICANN Accreditation (WebHostingReview.com) - Apr. 28

Afrinic Prices Slashed To Attract New Members (AllAfrica.com) - Apr. 28

Claim Denied in Multicast.com UDRP Case (NAF Case FA434268) - Apr. 28

New UDRP Decisions

2005-04-28T11:20:00.000-04:00

Smithsonian Institution wins case against Smithsonian.com (NAF Case FA436792) - Apr. 26

Paisley Park Enterprises (Prince's music production company) wins UDRP case for PaisleyPark.com (NAF Case FA440245) - Apr. 25

American Diabetes Association Loses Case to Typosquatter (NAF Case FA431012) - Apr. 20

UDRPlaw - The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy Legal Information Site

Last Post

December in Brazil

Latin American meeting

All is quiet on the GAC Public Forum

WB Loses DaisyDukes.com Complaint

New WIPO Report on UDRP Cases

Turin2006.com Domain Ordered Transferred in Advance of Olympic Games

The Smells of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking

Finnish Company & Town Join Forces in UDRP Win

PubCheese.com Complaint Appropriately Denied by Panel

.CAT on the internet

Registrar Certificates and .com/.net Domain Names

Single Letter Domain Names

Guess what was the most requested .EU domain on Day One

New NAF Supplemental Rules Begin January 1

.EU Launch Begins Today

Back from Vancouver

Heading to Vancouver

Tunis Document

UDRP Turns Six

WSIS Week

ICANN Board Call Today

Listen to Bret Fausett

New Internet Governance Project Paper

mTLD to Require Strict Standards

ICANN-Verisign Settlement

Vint Cerf Joins Google

European Parliament Recommends .kid TLD

For those who can, enjoy the long weekend

More from New Orleans

Directnic Coping With Hurricane Katrina Damage

Foxwood.com Case Continues

Internet Governance Project Statement

Five Complainants Join Together To Win UDRP Case

Breaking News - 4th Circuit Rules Against Falwell

Book Your .Travel Now

Objection to the Flag 2

New UDRP Decisions

.EU Dispute Resolution Information

Senator Slams "UN Control Over the Internet"

Get Ready For .Jobs

Syracuse University Hosts Internet Governance Forum

Larry King Wins UDRP Complaint

ICANN Vancouver Site Launched

New ACPA Decisions

ICANN Board & GNSO Calls Today

Heatwave

Light Blogging Rest of the Week

ICANN and Domain Name News Roundup

Realtime Captioning ICANN

Domain Name Hijacking Report

ICANN Meeting Underway

Upcoming WIPO UDRP Workshop and Resources

All Eyes on London

Catching Up

London 2012

More Articles on NTIA Announcement

Justice O'Connor Retires

US Statement on Internet Governance & Reaction

Beer Container Keeper-Colder TM Dispute Spills Over Into Federal Court

A Comment on CPR, and Mos Def Wins MosDef.com Decision

Stevie Wonder Wins UDRP Case

Melbourne Wins Commonwealth Games Domain

News Roundup

Volvo Loses WIPO Decision Involving Auto Parts Reseller Website

Thursday Roundup

Mega Monday Roundup

Checkmate in UDRP - Kasparov Wins Domain Name

American Arbitration Association .US Decisions

American Red Cross Wins Typosquatting Case

Registrant Keeps Elephant.com Domain in WIPO Decision

Friday Roundup

Respondent Keeps TrivialPursuits.net in WIPO Decision

VeriSign Keeps .Net

American Eagle Outfitters Loses UDRP Case

ICANN Board Call Today

.MOBI Contract Completed

Supersized Friday Roundup

WIPO Weighs In on IP Protection in New gTLDs