Domain-Name Wars, Rise of the Cybersquatters 183
Posted
by
ScuttleMonkey
from the clearly-we-need-more-laws-and-restrictions dept.
from the clearly-we-need-more-laws-and-restrictions dept.
CWmike writes "When FreeLegoPorn.com began publishing pornographic images created with Lego toys, Lego acted quickly. "The content available on the site consisted of animated mini-figures doing very explicit things. We were not amused," says Peter Kjaer, an attorney for Denmark-based Lego. Lego didn't go to court. Instead it filed a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization, which ruled in its favor. The domain registrar for FreeLegoPorn.com, GoDaddy.com, eventually shut down the site and transferred the domain name to Lego under ICANN rules. But it's not just Lego and Verizon that are suffering. Green energy is a hot topic, so cybersquatters have been targeting wind and solar energy start-ups. And malicious sites can create havoc with a brand's reputation. Cybersquatting activity rose by 18% last year, with a documented 440,584 cybersquatting sites in the fourth quarter of last year alone, according to MarkMonitor's annual Brandjacking Index report. And WIPO cited an 8% jump in dispute filings in 2008, to 2,329 complaints — a new record. Now, ICANN is preparing to open a potentially unlimited number of new top-level domains as early as the first quarter of 2010."
Down with Domain Resellers! (Score:2, Interesting)
The way it should be (Score:4, Interesting)
They should make it where the price of a domain doubles for each domain you have registered.
1. $35 ...etc.
2. $70
3. $105
That would raise the annual price of owning two domains to $105 and $210 for three, $420 for four, $840 for five and so on. That keeps the price relatively cheap for people who just want a personal domain or small businesses, but the domain squaters will be rendered out of business for the most part.
I want to see someone squat 1,000 domains at those prices.
WIPO sucks ass crackers. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:freelegoporn.com is not cybersquatting (Score:3, Interesting)
"Fair use" is one of those things you can't really determine until you go to court. Granted - that's sort of the way it is with anything that involves a court. But fair use is nebulous and tends to shift from court case to court case.
Parody has been held as fair use. But even parody has limits. Ask the Penny Arcade guys about their infamous Strawberry Shortcake [the-trukstop.com] strip. American Greetings came after them for use of the Strawberry Shortcake character. Their intent, if I remember right, was to use a popular 80s icon to parody American McGee's treatment of another childhood favorite - Alice in Wonderland. Penny Arcade's lawyer recommended they give in. If the Penny Arcade guys were parodying Strawberry Shortcake, they might have had reasonable footing to start their fight. But as they were parodying American McGee, it didn't give them license to use Strawberry Shortcake under fair use. Again - they could certainly take it to court as you can't really tell how a fair use suit will shake out until you do. But following their lawyers' advice isn't a bad idea.
Lego porn? I'd expect the issue to be similar. Are they really parodying Lego? Or using the Lego brand to parody something else?
Re:I'm not a violent person (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:freelegoporn.com is not cybersquatting (Score:3, Interesting)
Seconded. In fact, I remember another case where the court—wrongly—grabbed a domain name simply because of its resemblance to another site: etoy.com [etoy.com] vs. etoys.com [etoys.com]. etoy came first, but somehow eToys managed to suck up to a judge and lay claim to etoy.com, however temporarily. It may have had something to do with the fact that eToys thought it had a trademark for a vibrant, useful commerce site while that Johnny-come-earlier was pushing that wishy-washy pinko art.
This is the sort of thing the judiciary has to consider carefully when looking at a case where domain names rub a little too close together. And with the press continuing for domain names, the situation will only get worse.
Domain Names Are So Ten Years Ago... (Score:2, Interesting)
Free Typosquatting Scan Tool With Screenshots (Score:5, Interesting)
Full disclosure: I am Graham MacRobie, the CEO of Alias Encore, Inc. We help companies recover cybersquatting domain names, but we focus solely on "slam-dunk" typosquatting cases, not questionable cybersquatting cases such as the one mentioned in this article.
Re:WIPO sucks ass crackers. (Score:4, Interesting)
I went through WIPO arbitration. Someone wanted to take one of my domains away from me. I replied with a proper reply and ended up keeping my domain.
The arbitration goes to an individual or multiple individuals. It really depends on the individual you get. Looking through prior arbitration, I saw how mine could have gone either way.
Sooo... (Score:1, Interesting)
WHOIS:confirms. LEGO indeed now owns a domain advertising Lego Porn.
Next question: What are they going to use it for? :P
Re:Trademark is not copyright (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:The way it should be (Score:1, Interesting)
ford.focus.com, ford.mustang.com is better for advertising purpose.
"What kinda car do you have?, Ford Focus."
Thats why.
Re:WIPO sucks ass crackers. (Score:1, Interesting)
Epic fail. Domain name arbitration is done through filing papers. You don't have to show up anywhere because there is no hearing. All you do is file paperwork. Through the mail. It would probably cost a few thousand at most to hire a lawyer to prepare the appropriate paperwork.
http://www.icann.org/en/dndr/udrp/policy.htm [icann.org]
And if you think arbitration is expensive, you should try litigation. There's no comparison, really.