Melbourne IT the registrar/brand protection company published a paper that "makes the case that, despite the current protections ICANN has put in place, there is still a set of High At-Risk Marks (HARM) that remain particularly attractive to unscrupulous persons and organizations who will attempt to register these marks at the second level of new gTLDs". Basically Melbourne IT proposes to … [Read more...]
Court Uses Case Of CFIT Vs. Verisign To Hammer ICM’s & ICANN’s Motion To Dismiss Manwin Claims
A federal court made a ruling in the case involving Manwin, the owner of YouPorn.com, brought against ICM, the operator of the .XXX extension, and ICANN the non-profit organization which gave ICM the contract to operate the .XXX TLD ICM. The ruling involved ICM & ICANN's motion to dismiss the case. Bottom line ICM & ICANN got two of the 2 of the 6 cause of actions thrown out but the … [Read more...]
Class Action Suit Filed Against Microsoft For Overcharging For Pay Per Click Ads On Parked Domain Names
MediaPost.com is reporting that Microsoft has "been hit with a potential class-action lawsuit for allegedly overcharging marketers for pay-per-click ads". The suit was filed Wednesday in a federal court in Seattle by Lane's Gifts and Collectibles, "steaming from ads that Microsoft allegedly served on parked domains and "errors" pages". "Web users tend to reach those sites by accident, after … [Read more...]
ICE Seizes 70 More Domains
According to an announcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) today they "seized 70 websites that were illegally selling counterfeit merchandise". "The 70 websites seized are part of Project Copy Cat, an iteration of Operation In Our Sites (IOS), and closely mimicked legitimate websites selling authentic merchandise and duped consumers into unknowingly buying counterfeit … [Read more...]
The UDRP Should, Or Should Not Be The Forum To Recover Stolen Domains, How About Some Consistency Boys
As DomainNameWire.com just reminded me I have noted in past UDRP decisions that panels have been reluctant to allow domain holders to recoup ownership of their domain name through the UDRP process. But in the case Andrew wrote about today, as he pointed out a UDRP panel did just that allow a allegedly stolen domain to be returned to the former owner via the UDRP process. I have stated that … [Read more...]
Meatloaf Files Suit Over Meatloaf.org Under ACPA & Asks For Domain + $100K
According to TMZ, the pop singer Meatloaf, whose real name is Michael Aday, filed suit against a "Dean Torkington in L.A. County Superior Court, claiming Torkington registered MeatLoaf.org in "bad faith," and has since exploited the domain name to mislead and confuse Meat Loaf fans into thinking he's the real singer." "Torkington uses the website to promote his act -- called "To Hell and Back: … [Read more...]
ICM Registry Operator of .XXX, Ask Court To Dismiss Manwin, Operator of YouPorn.com 2nd Amended Complaint
ICM Registry (ICM) , operator of the .XXX extension asked the court to dismiss the suit (pdf) brought by Manwin LICENSING, INTERNATIONAL, Operator of YouPorn.com against ICM and ICANN on antitrust grounds. In a "response memorandum in support of its motion to dismiss the case" filed last Friday, ICM asked the court to dismiss the case against Mainwin based on "glaring factual differences" … [Read more...]