Travel show host says her ex-husband should hand over domain names.
Darley Newman, who hosts the PBS and Amazon Prime series Travels with Darley, has lost a cybersquatting dispute she filed against her ex-husband, Chip Ward.
Newman filed the dispute over five domain names: darleynewman.com, darleynewman.org, equitrekking.com, equitrekking.org, and travelswithdarley.com. (Equitrekking was a previous show.)
The Complainant stated that the domains should be transferred to her on the basis of a divorce agreement. Ward disagreed.
World Intellectual Property Panelist Scott Blackmer denied the claim because Newman didn’t show that Ward registered the domains in bad faith. One of the elements of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) is that the domains were registered and use in bad faith.
As is common in disputes like this one, the domains were originally registered in good faith, even if the Complainant now argues that they are being held or used in bad faith.
In other words, UDRP is not the appropriate venue to get these domain names. The courts are.
David Michaels says
This brings up 2 interesting issues:
1. Domains registered in good faith by a web developer on behalf a client but in the developer’s name; and
2. Domains registered by a Complainant that their former IT manager fraudulently transferred to themselves. So the original registration was made in good faith but the transfer wasn’t.
Andrew Allemann says
Yep, I’ve seen both happen. Of course if the IT manager transfers it to his name and it was in the company’s name, a UDRP panel can view that as a new registration date and a registration done in bad faith.
Wes Watson says
those names are terrible, they are the type of people that rely on SEO to be found on the internet. no type in traffic whatsoever.
Shew Pom says
So now a middle-aged man named Chip Ward owns a bunch of websites called Darley Newman. Clearly this isn’t case about “good” or “bad” faith—it’s a resentful ex-husband refusing to relinquish control of sites that glaringly belong to his ex-wife. Major justice fail.
outofherebuhbye says
If you read the whole ruling, Darley Newman owns the trademarks. Poor ruling, as clearly this scorned man is holding her web pages hostage. Plus she is the face, creator, and owner of the brands! It’s literally the Darley Newman show! ::searches to purchase chipward.com::