Over the years you run into people who don’t care much about trademark infringement. They register names that infringe on someone else’s intellectual property.
The thought was that if they got a UDRP they would just let the complainant take the domain name, no big whoop.
But I would always say to these people, the complainant doesn’t have to go the UDRP route, they can go for damages under the ACPA.
Well former Tour De France champion, Greg LeMond is filing a big suit against a Father and Son duo, to the tune of $6.6 million.
The Star Ledger writes:
Twin Cities cycling legend Greg LeMond has won a federal restraining order against a father and son accused of gobbling up dozens of internet domain names that play off LeMond’s name and his carbon-fiber technology business.
LeMond, who lives in Medina, has sued longtime marketer Frederick H. Stinchfield and Frederick H. Stinchfield III in federal court in Minneapolis for upward of $6.6 million.
He is alleging that the two are “cybersquatters,” having taken control of 66 web addresses using the three-time Tour de France champion’s trademarked name and business, called Grail. Examples include lemondgrail.com and grailcarbon.us.U.S. District Judge John Tunheim’s temporary restraining order bars the Stinchfields, who live in Orono, from registering any additional domain names tied to the 56-year-old LeMond or his business, or transferring or selling the ones they control.
You can read the full story here
The lesson here is don’t infringe on someone else’s property, especially when there is no upside. No one typing in GrailCarbon.us and clicking an ad.
There is a major reason why famous, as well as, non-famous people trademark their names, brands, and companies and that is for financial and other considerations and protections. It should be fairly obvious to all domain investors, large and small, that registering domains of famous people and brands is a waste of money, time, and credibility. I’m a domainer, like many of you and I’m pretty sure that the majority of us want to represent ourselves and our companies in a respectful manner. These types of registrations give all respectable domain investors and developers a bad name! I can remember when many journalists used the ugly term “Cybersquatter” to some of our industry’s finest representatives, just because they owned thousands of domains? At least they were smart enough to stay away from other peoples trademarks! IMHO