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In the past, domains that are descriptive rather than actual proper names were not awarded to the complainants. What then is so special about Hot Russian Brides? The difference is that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awarded Romantic Tours, Inc. a trademark for Hot Russian Brides.
If there is blame to be handed out, it should be handed to the USPTO, not the National Arbitration Forum. The respondent, Ilia Zavialov registered hotrusianbride.com, omitting one “s” from Russian and the “s”at the end of Brides. Like many other cybersquatting sites, the domain resolved to a website of click-through ad links, some of which linked to competitors.
The Forum ruled that Zavialov had violated Romantic Tours’ trademark and registered the domain in bad faith. Now all of those men who think they are getting hot Russian brides when the accidentally misspell “Russian” will still get their dream girls. Unfortunately, no hot Russian brides were available for comment.
Source: National Arbitration Forum
Photo: Flickr
