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Cybersquatting Cases Update: Zuccarini Threatens Legal Action Against Auctioneers Readying to Auction Off His Remaining Domain Names

Friday, August 6th, 2010

There is a proposed court order, still currently under consideration, to the effect that John Zuccarini’s remaining domain names will be sold at the TRAFFIC conference in Dublin taking place in October. The Zuccarini domain names would be sold to settle tax liens and a cybersquatting judgment against Zuccarini brought by Office Depot.

Apparently Zuccarini has contacted auction promoter Rick Latona and TRAFFIC organizers Rick Schwartz and Howard Neu, with threats of legal action if they proceed with auctioning off the remaining domain names.

In response to the letters, Henry M. Burgoyne of Kronenberger Burgoyne, LLP, filed an application of contempt of court (PDF – courtesy of DomainNameWire) by Zuccarini for allegedly interfering with the auction plans.

Continue reading Cybersquatting Cases Update: Zuccarini Threatens Legal Action Against Auctioneers Readying to Auction Off His Remaining Domain Names »

Tags: ACPA, anticybersquatting consumer protection act, bad faith cybersquatting, Cybersquatting Cases, Domain Disputes, stolen domain name, typo-squatting
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Metropark USA Wins Domain Name from a Cybersquatter in in rem Default Judgment

Friday, August 6th, 2010

U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa Carroll Buchanan granted Plaintiff Metropark USA a permanent injunction transferring ownership of Defendant www.Metropark.net in the Anti-cybersquatting Consumer Protect Act and federal trademark infringement in the case Metropark United States v. Metropark, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78674 (D. Va. 2010).

The decision (but because it is a Magistrate ruling it is really only a recommendation) was rendered and entered in default on July 8, 2010 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Virginia. In this federal cybersquatting claim, the D.C. for the E.D. Virginia exercised in rem jurisdiction over Defendant Domain Name www.Metropark.net and because the Domain Name registrant failed to reply to the complaint or otherwise appear before the court in these proceedings the Magistrate judge entered her recommendation in a default ruling against the Defendant Domain Name.

Brief history of the parties involved;

Continue reading Metropark USA Wins Domain Name from a Cybersquatter in in rem Default Judgment »

Tags: ACPA, anticybersquatting consumer protection act, bad faith cybersquatting, Cybersquatting Cases, default judgment, Domain Disputes, internet lawyer, pattern of bad faith cybersquatting, typo-squatting
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Good Faith and Bad Faith Analyzed in N.D.C.A. Cybersquatting Claim Brought Under the ACPA – Rearden LLC., v. Rearden Commerce

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Judge Patel presiding over this case in front of the Northern District of California’s District Court provides Internet Lawyers and lay readers alike with a few great examples of conduct that does / does not constitute ‘good faith’ in a cybersquatting claim brought under the ACPA.

1) A presumption of bad faith flows directly from any indication that a domain name owner, after already being accused of cybersquatting on a mark, registered additional domain names infringing (potentially) on the complainant’s mark to exacerbate the conflict. Instead, any party registering domain names that may potentially be infringing should register those domain names ‘as part of its program to connect with customers’.

2) A presumption of conduct indicating good faith is supported when a domain name owner accused of cybersquatting immediately ceases use of the infringing (allegedly) domain name after the cybersquatting allegations are brought to the domain owner’s attention.

3) (carrying the most weight in this opinion) A domain name owner accused of cybersquatting or trademark infringement can demonstrate ‘good faith’ by offering to unconditionally transfer the (possibly) infringing domain names to the complaining party.

Overview;

Plaintiff in this suit is Rearden LLC (Rearden), founded by Steve Perlman. Rearden owns the federal registered trademark for ‘REARDEN’ – Serial No. 77194957.

The Defendant, Rearden Commerce Inc., (RC), adopted that name in January 2005. RC owns the federal registered trademark for ‘REARDEN COMMERCE’ – Serial No.76632927.

Continue reading Good Faith and Bad Faith Analyzed in N.D.C.A. Cybersquatting Claim Brought Under the ACPA – Rearden LLC., v. Rearden Commerce »

Tags: ACPA, anticybersquatting consumer protection act, bad faith cybersquatting, cyber-squatting, Domain Disputes, domain name disputes, UDRP
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Rediff.com Wins Dispute in WIPO Arbitration Against Pakistani Cyber-squatter

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

Complainant, Rediff.com India Ltd. of Mumbai, India, filed its Complaint on March 6, 2010. Although WIPO found that this Complaint was deficient, they accepted an amended Complaint on March 16.

The parties attempted to reach a settlement agreement but this did not materialize and proceedings against Respondent, Daniyal Waseem of Quetta, Pakistan, commenced on April 21.

Waseem failed to provide any Response (due on May 11), so the WIPO Center’s sole arbitrator in this case notified Waseem of his default on May 18 and continued with the arbitration proceeding.

The lone WIPO panelist found that Rediff.com India Ltd. provided sufficient proof of its rights to the REDIFF trade-mark, that the trademark has been registered in several jurisdictions, and that Complainant provided evidence of ‘substantial and reasonably long use’ of the trademark.

Continue reading Rediff.com Wins Dispute in WIPO Arbitration Against Pakistani Cyber-squatter »

Tags: bad faith cybersquatting, Cyber-squatting Rediff, India cybersquatter, Rediff trademark, wipo
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UDRP Panel Recognizes that where a Registrant Reasonably Believed that what He was Doing was Legitimate, then Registrant’s Domain Name Registration Cannot be in Bad Faith

Friday, May 28th, 2010

An article entitled, Finally, a UDRP Panel Respects the Scope of the Policy, by Andrew Allemann over at Domain Name Wire, highlighted a recent ruling by the UDRP Panel, where the Panel exercised discretion in elaborating on the scope of its definition of cybersquatting.

The case is Human Resource Certification Institute v. Tridibesh Satpathy, and it is an example of a dwindling number of recent cases where an innocent domain name owner is allowed to retain his domain name even though it appears to infringe on a complainant’s service mark rights.

The Panel held in favor of Defendant and noted that;

“if the Respondent reasonably believed that what he was doing was legitimate, it cannot be said that his registration of the Domain Name was in bad faith.”

The Panel further elaborated on trademark law and cybersquatting;

“The Policy was designed to deal with a relatively narrow form of dispute between trade mark (and service mark) proprietors and domain name registrants, namely the deliberate registration of a domain name featuring the complainant’s trade mark or a confusingly similar variant of it with a view to causing damage or disruption to the complainant or his business or unfairly exploiting the complainant’s trade mark for the registrant’s own advantage.” Continue reading UDRP Panel Recognizes that where a Registrant Reasonably Believed that what He was Doing was Legitimate, then Registrant’s Domain Name Registration Cannot be in Bad Faith »

Tags: bad faith cybersquatting, cyber-squatting, cybersquatting, domain name disputes, good faith registration, UDRP
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Greek Belly Dancer Cybersquatter Faces $10,000 Default Judgment

Friday, May 28th, 2010

The controversy centers on a Greek belly dancer and her former employment, Greek Restaurant Taverna Opa and its owner Peter Tsialiamanis.

The Argentinian belly dancer, Aisha Ismail was the first belly dancer at the Hollywood Greek restaurant. Interestingly though, Ismail was also a part-time computer programmer. She purchased the domain name ‘tavernaopa.com’ and when approached; she refused to sell it to the restaurant, even when offered $5,000 she rejected the offer, instead demanding $25,000.

Turning down the $5,000 turned out to be a poor choice for Ismail because in 2008, Taverna Opa sued Ismail for cybersquatting on its stolen domain name. After rejecting Tsialiamanis’s offer, she began to advertise for her new place of employment, the Greek Seafood Restaurant Milos, on tavernaopa.com.;

I will like to invite you to the new restaurant ‘Milos’ best and freshest seafood.”

Continue reading Greek Belly Dancer Cybersquatter Faces $10,000 Default Judgment »

Tags: bad faith cybersquatting, cyber-squatting, cybersquatters, cybersquatting, domain name disputes, stolen domain name
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