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Rob Monster sues after losing UDRP for BC30.com

by — Policy & Law 13 Comments

Monster chose to blast WIPO rather than respond to the three elements of UDRP.

Picture of Rob Monster, CEO of Epik

Rob Monster has filed a lawsuit after losing a UDRP for BC30.com.

Rob Monster, the CEO of domain name registrar Epik, has filed a lawsuit after losing the domain name BC30.com in a UDRP.

Ganeden Biotech, Inc. filed a UDRP with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) against the domain name in December.

Instead of formally responding to the UDRP, Monster sent an email that the WIPO panelist characterized as “needless derogatory remarks (and threats) about the UDRP and the Center.”

While the UDRP does not detail Monster’s message, he posted it publicly on domain name forum NamePros. The email stated that Monster would publicly critique the decision should he lose the case.

Panelist John Swinson wasn’t amused, and he also didn’t have affirmative defenses to the Complainant’s submissions. He found in favor of the Complainant.

Now Monster has filed a lawsuit (pdf) to stay the transfer. He’s also asking for damages.

Monster filed it in U.S. District Court in Washington, where both he and his registrar are located. Monster is representing himself in the lawsuit.

 

Reflex Marketing files lawsuit after losing UDRP

by — Policy & Law 19 Comments

Musical instrument marketing company wants to get a shorter domain name.

Picture of judge's gavel

A regional musical instrument marketing company has turned to the courts after losing a UDRP for the domain name ReflexMarketing.com

Reflex Marketing, LLC operates in the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania areas. It uses the domain name ReflexMarketingLLC.com.

Earlier this year, it lost a UDRP against the domain name. The panel found that Reflex Marketing did not show that the domain was registered and used in bad faith.

The registrant, who lives in China, acquired the domain name in the drop last year after a marketing agency let it expire.

Now Reflex Marketing has filed an in rem lawsuit (pdf) against the domain name in U.S. District Court in Virginia, where .com registry Verisign is located. It alleges that the registrant violated the U.S. Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.

The lawsuit mentions registrant data verification by World Intellectual Property Organization but doesn’t mention that it lost a UDRP for the name.

As an in rem case, the judge is likely to enter a default judgment unless the domain owner shows up to defend the domain in court.

Popular YouTuber Stacy Plays files lawsuit to get domain StacyPlays .com

by — Policy & Law 1 Comment

Lawsuit cites Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.

Screenshot from Stacy Plays YouTube account shows Minecraft

A screenshot from a Stacey Plays video on YouTube.

Stacy Hinojosa’s company Stacy Plays Brands, LLC has filed a lawsuit (pdf) to try to get the domain name StacyPlays .com.

Hinojosa is known as Stacy Plays. Her YouTube channel has over 2 million subscribers who tune in to watch Minecraft videos and see her pets. She also has over 700,000 followers on Twitter and over 450,000 followers across two Instagram accounts.

Using different counsel than the lawsuit, Hinojosa tried to get StacyPlays .com through a UDRP in 2017. Her lawyer depended on registered trademark rights and did not argue common law rights. The domain name was registered before official trademark registrations, even though common law rights predate the domain registration. Therefore, she lost the case.

The lawsuit states that the domain resolves to a parking page including related links, such as “Minecraft Mods” and “Minecraft”. When I visited the domain today, it forwarded to a page that tried to install a Chrome extension. This suggests that the domain registrant is rotating where traffic resolves.

After losing UDRP, PureTalk sues to upgrade its domain name

by — Policy & Law 5 Comments

Company tries to get PureTalk(.)com through ACPA.

Logo for Pure Talk MVNO

Pure Talk lost a UDRP, so it filed a lawsuit to try to upgrade its domain from PureTalkUSA.com to PureTalk.com.

Pure Talk, a mobile virtual network operator, has filed a lawsuit (pdf) to try to obtain the domain name PureTalk(.)com. The company uses the domain name PureTalkUSA.com.

This is the company’s second attempt to get control of the domain without buying it. In June, the company filed a cybersquatting claim under UDRP. The panelist denied the claim because the domain was registered before Pure Talk had any trademark rights, so it couldn’t have been registered in bad faith.

Now, the company is trying its hand with an in rem lawsuit against the domain for violating the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). The lawsuit suggests that the domain was transferred to another owner after Pure Talk obtained trademark rights. That argument works in UDRP, but it can be harder under ACPA. I’m not sure why the company didn’t point out the potential ownership transfer in its UDRP.

Intriguingly, the company’s trademark for Pure Talk states a first use date of 2017. PureTalkUSA.com has been used for much longer, though.

The lawsuit also erroneously states that the registry for the domain is “VeriSign, Inc. d/b/a Public Interest Registry” and refers to Public Interest Registry as the registry a second time. Public Interest Registry is the registry for .org, not .com. Verisign is the .com registry.

But the in rem lawsuit strategy might just work. The domain owner needs to show up to defend the domain in court, or the judge might issue a default judgment.

Man drags Qatar Tourism Council to U.S. Court in domain dispute

by — Policy & Law 21 Comments

Qatar’s Tourism Council launched a fight over a domain name, and now it needs to defend itself in U.S. Court.

Picture of Doha, Qatar skyline

A man from Azerbaijan is suing the Qatar National Tourism Council—in Colorado.

Teymur Mehdiyev filed a lawsuit (pdf) in U.S. District Court, District of Colorado, after the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ordered that his domain VisitQatar.com be transferred to the tourism council.

The WIPO panel made this decision despite Mehdiyev having a registered trademark in the U.S. for “Visit Qatar”.

By filing the lawsuit, the domain name transfer will be stayed pending the outcome of the suit.

So why Colorado? When the tourism council filed the dispute, it agreed to submit to the jurisdiction where the domain name registrar is located. The domain name is registered with Name.com, a company in Denver.

Mehdiyev is asking the court to declare that his ownership of VisitQatar.com does not constitute cybersquatting. He’s also asking for a finding of reverse domain name hijacking, which comes with a penalty as high as $100,000.

Now, Qatar’s tourism council must defend itself in U.S. court or it might find itself on the wrong end of a judgment.

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