Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH), also known as reverse cybersquatting, is similar to trademark bullying. Both tactics involve the trademark owner using his trademark rights to unjustly interfere with another’s rights. With trademark bullying, a trademark owner uses his trademark rights to harass and intimidate another beyond what the law might be reasonably interpreted to […]
Category: Cyberspace
Guccio Gucci founded the Italian fashion and leather goods label Gucci in Florence in 1921. Since then, it has become a very fashionable and profitable brand throughout the world. The brand holds many registrations for the trademark GUCCI throughout the world. It was not pleased to find out that someone had registered multiple domain names that […]
On October 24, 1999, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). The UDRP incorporated by contract into registration agreements for .com, .org, .net and some other domain names. The focus was on regulating bad faith cybersquatting on trademarks. Clause 4 of the UDRP discusses the Mandatory […]
If you have an idea (a great idea) to create a website that allows visitors to watch and share YouTube videos together with their friends, you should consult an attorney to figure out how to embark on the venture without stepping on anyone’s toes. The last thing you want to worry about in a start-up […]
On its “About” page, The Pirate Bay describes itself as follows: The Pirate Bay is the worlds largest bittorrent tracker. Bittorrent is a filesharing protocol that in a reliable way enables big and fast file transfers. The website was founded by a Swedish anti-copyright organization and has gone through a few changes of ownership before […]
Is Facebook being a trademark bully, or is it really just trying to protect its intellectual property? In March 2010, Facebook sent small scale parody website Lamebook (some of the stuff on there is really funny) a cease and desist letter. Facebook had a problem with Lamebook’s name, mark, and look and feel of its […]
Last night, Google sent out a “mandatory announcement” to all Gmail users in the United States as part of a legal settlement, which was authorized by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The note stipulated that Google has reached a settlement in a lawsuit regarding Google Buzz, a service Google […]
Peer-to-peer music sharing’s glory days are long gone. Napster used to be a favorite for people interested in swapping music with one another for free. It did not take too long for the music industry to see the writing on the wall, and Napster had to completely change the services it offered. Other peer-to-peer start-ups […]
Last Wednesday, junior Declan Sullivan was recording Notre Dame football’s practice from the top of a hydraulic lift before he fell to his death. He was doing his job, videotaping practice from an aerial view so that the football players would later be able to see what they needed to correct before game day. Then a […]
Solid blue background with thin all caps white block letters that spell the word “GAP”. That’s the logo that has been associated with the American clothing and accessories retailer for as long as I can remember. But earlier this month, the company decided that it was time for a change of branding. A new logo […]
You want to create some websites. You understand the value of owning the domain name for your name (i.e. DarrenHeitner.com), you need a website for your company, and maybe you also want to start up a blog. But you have no idea how to write the code for your various sites and do not feel […]
If you get sued in court, will your Facebook privacy settings protect you from opposing counsel’s request for electronic discovery? If that information is material and necessary for the opposition’s case and the need for the information outweighs any privacy concerns, then that “private” information might be available, no matter what privacy settings you set […]