Microsoft is a company that needs no introduction, but for those who have been under a very low-tech rock for the past 20 years, they are the dominating software force in the PC market. Their operating system, Windows and their office suite are used on the majority of the world’s …
August, 2009
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17 August
UK Businessman in Heated Dispute Over .AE Domain
As if the .ae top-level domain craze could stand to get more sensational, Michael Reed, a businessman from the United Kingdom, is complaining that the UAE domain regulator, .aeDA unlawfully took back a domain he had legitimately registered. The domain in question is Irena.ae. Reed owns a 12-year-old trademark for …
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14 August
WIPO Rules Against a Trademark Holder
In what is clearly an exceptional yet not completely unique type of case, the WIPO has ruled against a legitimate trademark holder in a domain dispute. Runway Beauty Inc. filed a complaint against Errol Hernandez, who registered and parked runwaymagazine.com, runwaymagazine.net, and runwaymagazine.org. The website opens to a portal stating …
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7 August
KBToys.com sells for £1.25 million
After a business closes, its intellectual property- domains, trademarks, logos, etc.- still have value and can be sold. Bankrupt toy retailer KB Toys took advantage of this to pay its creditors when it sold its trademarks, logos, and KBToys.com domain for £1.25 million ($2.1 million USD) yesterday. Retail operator CE …
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5 August
Twitter Outsources Domain Name Portfolio
The micro-blogging giant Twitter has handed over management of its domain portfolio to an Australian registrar. It includes a two-year, deal during which the company will manage all of Twitter’s domains. It is a common practice for registrars to provide single portals for customers who need to manage multiple domains. …
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3 August
Romantic Tours Inc. Wins HotRusianBride.com
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 …
July, 2009
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31 July
Sears loses dispute for my-gofer domains
What do the domains my-gofer.biz,.info.,.net,.org,and .info have in common? Sears Brands, LLC does not have rights to any of them. They apparently thought they did, however, and took the case before an arbitrator. MyGofer is the chosen name and trademark of Sears’ shopping service. Their main website is mygofer.com Sears …
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27 July
SCOPE rinses away cybersquatter
The Proctor and Gamble Company (PG), responsible for products such as Tide detergent, Pampers diapers, and Scope mouthwash, recently filed a domain dispute with Richard Jones, a man who registered scopemouthwash.com and used it for his search portal of miscellaneous advertisements available in multiple languages. PG owns pg.com as well …
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27 July
Federal court rejects Hotels.com appeal
The website owners of Hotels.com have been trying to get trademark status for the domain name for over year, but Friday The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the ruling of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. According to the court, the term “hotels” …
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22 July
Dolphins.com up for domain dispute
A new case has been filed with the WIPO regarding dolphins.com. The complainant is the Miami Dolphins, a U.S.-based American bartball team. A quick look at the website reveals that it points to a series of links and ads mostly about the Miami Dolphins. This seems to be the reason …