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Don’t Mess with Verizon, Motorola, and Lucasfilm

Elliot Silver
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9

Just about every time a big company announces the launch of a new product, people buy related domain names for a multitude of reasons. Some buy them with the hopes of selling them to another company, others want to capitalize on potential popular typos, and yet others want to offer services, forums, special offers or other information related to the product.

On November 8th, Verizon Wireless began selling the Motorola Droid, a new smartphone that has had a whole lot of positive press and reviews. I’ve seen dozens of commercials for the Droid (if not more than dozens), and they seem to be directly taking on the iPhone and other smart phones. Needless to say, the Droid will be in high demand, and people will think they can make money by buying and selling Droid domain names.

However, with this particular trademark, you really need to be very careful of the usage of related domain names. On the bottom of Droid-related pages on Verizon Wireless’ website, there is a legal notice, “DROID is a trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. and its related companies.”

By registering domain names with the term “droid” in it, you will probably be stepping on the feet of Verizon, Motorola, and Lucasfilm. Keep this in mind in the event that you think you might be able to make money with this mark. Obviously there are way to use “droid” in a domain name without potential liability, but I am sure there are plenty of people who don’t realize the risk of owning these with the intent of profiting off of the Droid mark, by selling, parking, or otherwise monetizing phone-related Droid names.

See WIPO UDRP Cases as They Are Filed

Elliot Silver
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7

Although I generally learn about UDRP cases after the decisions are made, I occasionally look through all of the WIPO UDRP cases that have been filed. The World Intellectual Property Organization, which oversees UDRP cases, lists all of the cases filed by year, and it provides a status update next to each case – from pending through decided and everything in between. This is in addition to being able to search for cases by domain name, complainant, and respondent.

One reason I monitor filings is to stay ahead to see if there are certain companies that are aggressively and/or over aggressively protecting their brands. I particularly pay attention to geodomain names, acronym domain names (2 and 3 letters and 2 and 3 numbers), and other generic domain names. Whether or not a majority of these cases are awarded to the complainant doesn’t really impact my reasoning for monitoring. I watch them to proactively protect my domain names and be mindful of certain companies when making future acquisitions, because a UDRP defense can be expensive and can only negatively impact the value of a domain name.

Below are recent UDRP filings for seemingly generic domain names:

Hostess.com – filed by Interstate Bakeries Corporation

QUE.com – filed by Plastic Logic, Inc.

ENX.com – filed by ENX (European Network Exchange) Association

WiFiParis.com – filed by Ville de Paris

MID.org – filed by The Royal National Institute for Deaf People

Domain Contracts Can Be Critical

Elliot Silver
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7

I had a situation last week where I wanted to close on a domain name, but the seller had concerns about the domain sales agreement I sent. Since I use a standard domain agreement I had created by a domain lawyer based in New York, I was a bit taken aback by his concerns. I thought about it for a few minutes and realized that I may have been the same way had someone random offered to buy a domain name I owned and then sent over a two page legal agreement for me to sign.

I explained to him the different sections of the agreement, which included a section discussing the cost and payment terms, a section where it states that the domain name isn’t encumbered and/or had no trademark issues, a confidentiality clause, and other standard contract sections. I even explained that when he buys a big ticket item like a car or television, and even when he checks off a box of terms and conditions when registering a domain name, he is signing a contract.

In the end, I opted to move forward without the agreement rather than kill the deal. I was able to determine he was the original registrant 12 years ago (only able to see Whois history dating back to 2001), and everything matched up. Since I paid via Escrow.com and it’s a generic name, there were no special details added to the standard agreement.

On deals where certain conditions need to be met, it’s very important that a contract is used to protect both buyer and seller from any legal troubles that may arise down the road. It’s important that both parties’ expectations are laid out in the agreement, along with the ramifications if terms aren’t met. Rick had a post about his Property.com deal this morning, and you can see why an agreement can be very important, especially when it involves more than a domain sale.

I recommend using a sales agreement on most deals that you do, especially because you can re-use a boiler plate agreement that you paid for once. A standard domain sales agreement is one tool that is good for you to have on hand, and it isn’t very expensive to have created for your business.

Bloggers Now Held to Higher Standard by FTC

Elliot Silver
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3

The US government’s Federal Trade Commission has changed the guidelines for bloggers (and celebrities) who write paid reviews or offer endorsements, and I think this is a very good thing for people who read blogs. Bloggers now must reveal whether they were compensated for a product or service review found on their website, which is similar to disclosures companies need to make in advertisements. If they fail to do so, they could receive significant fines.

According to the Federal Trade Commission’s revised Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials:

The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers.

I can’t recall a time when I wrote a paid review on behalf of a company, although I have turned down several requests. On occasion, a company will offer services (development services for example) in exchange for a mention on my blog, but I generally refrain from providing any opinion in those posts.

When I do provide an opinion, it is based on my actual experience rather than simply writing a glowing report in exchange for a fee. My blogging goal has always been to be helpful to others, and if there’s ever a time when something is written and I am compensated, I will certainly disclose it to you. I also want to add that when a person or company does exceptional work or goes above and beyond on a project for me, I want to let people know about it.

Rio Wins Right to Hold Olympics in 2016 – Olympics Domains Still Off Limits

Elliot Silver
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3

Rio OlympicsNow that Rio De Janeiro, Brazil has been awarded the Summer Olympic Games in 2016, it’s important that domain investors keep in mind the words “Olympic” and “Olympics” in relation to sporting events is a highly protected trademarked term. The International Olympic Committee is familiar with the UDRP process, and the USOC has also filed UDRP cases against for domain names that they believe infringe on their marks.

The Brazilian Olympic Committee already owns Rio2016.com, Rio2016.org, RioDeJaneiro2016.org, and they probably believe they have the right to any domain name related to Rio and the year 2016 – even without the Olympic trademark. Whether or not this is true may depend on usage (I am not an attorney and won’t speculate), but whether they have the rights to names or not doesn’t mean they won’t take action to get these names via UDRP or other means.

Last year, the Chicago Bid Committee made an attempt to take control of Chicago2016.com. They own Chicago2016.org, and they felt that the .com should belong to them as well. The owner of the domain name was forced to take legal action of his own to keep it, and as of the present time, the domain name is still owned by him.

If you are thinking about making money trading in Olympic-related domain names, you might want to think again and not take chances with the IOC or any other Olympic Committee.

Domain Dispute Hits New York City Night Clubs

Elliot Silver
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1

This morning’s New York Post reported that the owners of Greenhouse, a beautiful downtown NYC night club, “bought the Internet domain name Provocateurnyc.com.” Provocateur is the name of another nightclub that is expected to open in the Hotel Gansevoort very soon. The Whois registration for ProvocateurNYC.com is private, and the domain name forwards to the Greenhouse website.

The Post should keep in mind that virtually anyone could register a domain name like this and forward it to any other website. Since the registration is private, there isn’t much of a way to know who owns it, unless a court order or UDRP filing requires the domain name registrar to reveal the name of the owner. Hypothetically, a third party could own the domain name and be looking to stir up trouble between night spots.

One thing about this is certain. Although I haven’t been to the Gansevoort rooftop for a drink in a couple of years, it sure sounds like Provocateur is going to be a hot spot in the neighborhood.

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