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The 2d Circuit frowns on the idea of awarding monetary damages under ACPA to domain names registered prior to ACPA's enactment in 1999. Note: the defendant in this case is not related to me and spells his last name differently.
Vermont Teddy Bear Company v. Schwimer, 03-7030 (2d Cir July 1 2004).
SCO, scourge of the LINUX world, has filed a trademark application for UNIX SYSTEMS LABORATORIES, which had been a registered mark belonging to, oddly enough, Unix System Laboratories. As far as I can tell, the registration went from USL to Novell to X/Open, which let the thing lapse in 2000.
The folks at Slashdot and GrokLaw are upset by this filing but it appears that SCO had Novell assign it a registration for UNIXWARE, and that registration isl valid. In fact, that appears to be the only valid registration that incorporates UNIX, covering software. And it's more than 5 years old and has had its Sec 8/15 accepted, so it's invulnerable to some (but not all) challenges.
MSNBC article reporting a study where 28% of email users were fooled by email with fraudulent email addresses.
This story has something for everyone: The U.S Army is reportedly purchasing knock-off Kalishnikov rifles to outfit Afghani and Iraqi security forces. A Russian company, Izhmash, claims patent rights, and is not happy. The real Kalishnikov is the 'most wide-spread weapon in the world' (sic). The knock-offs come from Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. Via the International Herald Tribune.
Other fine Izhmash products here.
Something I wrote on The Blawg Channel on the THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND parody.
A ZDNET article on supposed David and Goliath cases that says what needs to be said over and over again: Don't make assumptions.
LEGO LITTLE PEOPLE-like biblical figures (connection to LEGO disclaimed). Worth it to see the Holy Ghost Little People figure here.
Via Chris Rush Cohen, a political satire of THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND here.
Via CopyFight, an iPOD satire here.
Things to think about. What percentage of the original work is copied? Is the 'target' of the satire/parody the original work, or some other topic? Does the satire/parody compete with the original work? Is the satire/parody a form of political speech? Is the satire/parody funny (that question isn't legally relevant but is a consideration if you decide to repeat the joke to friends).
3D copying here, via Slashdot.
Google takes one on the chin. It loses a UDRP against FROOGLES.COM, which was registered in 2001 (prior to FROOGLE, but certainly after GOOGLE). Decision here.
Interbrand and Business Week have determined that the five most valuable brands in the world are:
COCA-COLA MICROSOFT IBM GE INTEL
The press release and list of top 50 are here.
I humbly note in passing that my firm represents 2 of the 5.
Ninth Circuit affirms denial of preliminary injunction sought by sports agency with registration for PLAYMAKERS, against ESPN's use of PLAYMAKERS for dramatic series on sports. Court relied on weakness of mark, differences in services, differences in channels of trade and sophistication of clients selecting sports agency services.
Playmakers LLC v. ESPN, CV-03-02894-MJP (9th Cir. July 15, 2004).
XM Radio sues XM2YOU, whose technology allows downloading music by phone, via Naples Daily News.
A Powerpoint presentation in favor of a .CAT TLD, for users of the Catalan language and culture.
PC World on attempts to alter search results.
Intel v. Jesus, via The Register.
Announcing The Blawg Channel. Blawgers wanted. Press Release here.
Cablenewser.com article about MoveOn's request that the FTC investigate Fox' use of FAIR AND BALANCED on false advertising grounds. MoveOn's letter to the FTC (link in the article) is quite interesting. I'm quoted as to why MoveOn has an uphill fight proving its case.
Microsoft will reportedly settle its longtime trademark dispute with Lindows by purchasing the trademark and domain name from Lindows for $20 million. Via Marketwatch.com.
DM News.com on: "Will Paid Inclusion Be Banished?", reporting moves by MSN and Ask Jeeves away from practice of entities paying for incusion in search engine results (as opposed to payment for advertisments alongside search engines results).
Background FTC paper on paid inclusion
Here is a press release announcing the auction of the domain name KERRYEDWARDS.COM. Bidding starts at $150,000. We are told that the current registrant is really named Kerry Edwards, which would be a complete defense to cyber-squatting with regard to his registration and use of the domain name.
Google has introduced a feature in its toolbar that appears to by-pass the 'fill-in' function in the address bar of Internet Explorer, and allows you to type in a name (no www. or TLD) and it takes you to where it guessed you wanted to go. You have to have downloaded Google toolbar, but you type the name into the browser address bar. Reminiscent of the late Real Names, you are taken directly to the page Google determine's is most relevant to your search. If there is no clear winner, apparently, Google takes you to a page of search results.
Putting the feature through its paces, I received the following:
WHITE HOUSE - whitehouse.gov FORD - ford.com SCRIPTING - search results DELTA - delta.com LLOYDS - lloydstsb.com BUSH - search results TRADEMARK - uspto.gov TRADEMARK BLOG - me VIAGRA - search results SUN - search results APPLE - apple.com
SearchEngineWatch reports that IE already has this functionality, in the Tools>Internet Options>Advanced tab.
I was going to email Keith Teare (founder of Real Names) and ask him what he thought but this piece from his blog entitled "Google Ripped Off Real Names Idea!" seems to cover that.
The Register reports on a dispute between the licensees of the LOTR property and an email service at shiremail.com. The article's discussion of the 1000+ year history of the word SHIRE is interesting, but it downplays a bit too much the fact that the proprietor of shiremail.com appeared at one time to operate under the name PLANET TOLKEIN.
The Political Economy of Intellectual Property Law, by Landes and Posner, thanks to Volokh for the link.
Somehow the urban myth circulated that there is a Code 431.322.12 of the Internet Privacy Act (which doesn't exist). Website operators got it into their heads that if they cited Code 431.322.12, they could bar from their sites whomever they wanted, such as law enforcement officers or trademark attorneys.
In any event, I noted here a while ago, that if you were interested in policing your mark you could, for example, Google the term "431.322.12 BABY PHAT" or "431.322.12 JUICY", and you will likely find somebody selling replica products of those marks.
Well, it still works. Pick a designer mark, give it a shot.
A press release having something to do with DotComGuy auctioning his name or something. Probably not worth your time if you're busy.
One lawyer used a rival's lawyer name as a keyword for a 'sponsored link'. Dispute ensued. Via NY Lawyer.
European Court of Justice: CHUFAFIT for nuts not similar to CHUFA for foods. Via just-food.com.
Website promoting documentary 'OutFoxed' on Fox News here.
NY Times article alleging that 'Outfoxed' was made in secret, in fear of Fox attempting to stop distribution with copyright suit, here.
Editor & Publisher article on Fox News v. NY Times article and documentary here.
Washington Post on brouhaha here.
Copyfight with many links on whether there will be a lawsuit arising from all this here.
TONY TWIST lawsuit vs. Todd McFarlane continues - now hockey player and 'enforcer' Tony Twist has been awarded $15m in damages against artist McFarlane for using 'Tony Twist' as the name of a mobster in a comic book. Earlier aspects of this case had gone up to the Supreme Court which did not rule (background here and Supreme Court of Missouri decision here.
Ravindran Asscoiates of Singapore emails us to advise that the Singaporean Trademark Act has been amended, effective July 1, to include dilution actions, and to give greater protection to well-known but unregistered marks. The new law itself does not appear online, but is available from the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore.
Dodora, an ICANN-accredited registrar, has had its 'operations' frozen, and its names migrated by the bankrutpcy receiver to Directi, according to this Directi announcement.
This ICANN Watch piece indicates that Dodora was associated in some way with spamming. This Domain Name Journal page indicates that Dodora has 'long been a source of consumer complaints.'
I'm aware of registars being sold (NSI being the largest example) and registrars being merged (SRS Plus, where I'm a re-seller, was merged into NSI), but I am not aware of another instance of a prior instance of a registrar going bankrupt, necessitating the migration of the domain name registrants. Email me if I'm wrong.
An anonymous comment posted to the ICANN Watch piece states that '50 to 75 registrars have indicated that they will go out of business' (there are over 200 accredited registrars, although not all are active). Does anyone have more info on this?
Verisign will update the whose records for .com and .net more rapidly, from the present twice a day rate to 'near real tine,'beginning Sept.8.
Dennis Kennedy arguing that law firms must have identities because someone stole that of Fish and Neave.
Organization:
Kerry Edwards
Kerry Edwards
22 n Delaware
Indianapolis, IN 46204
US
Domain Name: KERRYEDWARDS.COM
| Rendina Solutions, LLC | ||||
| 4711 Hope Valley Rd #307 | ||||
| Durham, NC 27707 | ||||
| US | ||||
| Phone: 999 999 9999 | ||||
| Fax: 999 999 9999 | ||||
| Domain Name: BUSHCHENEY.COM | ||||
European Court of Justice round-up via Ipkat.
So this guy selling counterfeit merchandise goes into the police station by mistake, and . . . via BBC News.
FindLaw reports that a California federal court has rejected a motion for injunctive relief brought by Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses, to prevent the use of the name HOLLYWOOD ROSE: THE ROOTS OF GUNS N' ROSES in connection with a CD featuring early recordings of the band Hollywood Rose, several of whose members went on to join Guns N' Roses.
Friday afternoon trivia: work out anagrams for AXL ROSE.
Via IP News Blog, word of a website named CopyScape that compares text on one page with text of other pages in its (presumably vast) archive.
In other words, it could potentially spot a copyright infringement. It's currently in beta. Give it a whirl.
Note Motley Fool's cynical observation that Googles.com, home of the Googles, which has been co-existing with Google.com since 1997 but waited until Google was filing its IPO before moving to oppose one of Google's trademark applications, did so in order to achieve publicity. The suggestion that someone would pay the $300 filing fee for an opposition for reasons other than to oppose a trademark is shocking.
The fact that Googles.com was able to work the fact that it is seeking investors into this article announcing the suit surely must merely represent comprehensive reporting.
Test
. . . will come back up. It was one of those computer things.
The Blog will be down for maintenance at some point this weekend. Have a good weekend.
Ohio car dealership runs ad of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Ohio newspaper, without authorization. Schwarzenegger sues under right of publicity, in California. Ninth Circuit affirms dismissal, as Schwarzenegger shows neither general nor specific jurisdiction. Interesting discussion distinguishing case from Panavision v. Toeppen (where defendant's tortious act 'targeted' California plaintiff).
Schwarzenegger v.Fred Martin Motor, 02-56937 (Ninth Circuit June 30, 2004)
Fake Viagra turns up in California, via cnn.com.
