Person who bought 509.com in Sedo auction defends domain in stolen domain lawsuit.
The person who paid $109,000 to buy 509.com in a domain name auction has responded to a lawsuit that alleges the domain name was previously stolen.
Yin Sheng filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in July against John Doe and in rem against the domain, saying the domain was stolen from him. He said he acquired the domain in 2018. NameBio records show the domain sold for $295,000 that year.
The domain was auctioned on Sedo this year. Dashiell Shapiro won the auction and paid $109,000 for the domain name.
Shapiro responded (pdf) pro se, arguing that he acquired the domain in “a well-publicized auction from a recognized domain marketplace.” He also makes an affirmative defense of laches.
The suit is yet another entirely inappropriate use of the ACPA to obtain transfer of a domain name that was not a mark for any goods or services whatsoever. The Complaint doesn’t even bother to allege anything for which “509” or “509.com” functioned as a mark.
Its sucks that domain names get stolen. But turning the ACPA into a “make a conclusion allegation and win a domain name” affair is not going to work out well for domainers either.
Asking for dismissed with prejudice means it cant be brought to court again.
Hopefully, they agree.
Pay $295,000, and somehow loses it?
Not buying it;
Hi Andrew. Thanks for DNW. The work you put in to make sure the site always has great content is noticed and appreciated.
John, I’m glad you commented on this. Plaintiff and his lawyers are certainly misusing the ACPA (and abusing the system) by filing this lawsuit. The lawyers know it. I tell domainers every Tuesday at 3pm PST while hosting the weekly Domain Name Law Club Meetup on Clubhouse that you can’t just register a trademark for a domain name unless you conduct commerce under that name and provide a legit product or service. You know, most think it’s just like filing for a DBA or forming an LLC. I have also shared that the ACPA is to protect legitimate trademark holders from true cybersquatters as well as from bad UDRP decisions, like when a domain is transferred away to an entity who doesn’t have rights to it.
Hi Todd,
Huge fan here. Been silently following you around for quite sometime & trying to learn as much as I can.
What would you say about domains based on generic products? Such as OliveOil.com or Yellow corn.com? Can anyone file a law suit against the owners of such domains?
Regards,
Francis
Of course! In America, you can be sued by anyone at any time for any reason. Some Americans are just very litigious.