Category: Disputes

Activision files complaint over ModernWarfare3.com, posted online

Post author By J.B.
Post date July 15, 2011
27 Comments on Activision files complaint over ModernWarfare3.com, posted online

Breaking update July 19, 2011 04:57 AM EST: The identity of ModernWarfare3.com has now been revealed.

Activision has had enough with ModernWarfare3.com.

The gaming company has filed its first domain name dispute with the National Arbitration Forum.

The complaint was filed today, July 15, a week after the mystery owner of the domain started re-directing the URL to EA’s Battlefield.com, sparking a flurry of news stories.

Although I track domain disputes filed with the National Arbitration Forum and the World Intellectual Property Organization, I didn’t find out about the dispute through their online databases, instead I found out about the dispute when I paid a visit to ModernWarfare3.com.

As of today, ModernWarfare3.com is back to its old format online, but with a twist. Sitting on the home page is a copy of the complaint (read here) the owner received.

Now begins the UDRP (Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy), which was adopted by ICANN in the late nineties.

The complaint cost Activision $2,600 USD to file for a three-member panel.

The 11-page document, includes among other things, reasons by Activision as to why the respondent has no right or legitimate interest to the name.

Activision states, “It appears that the Respondent supports the game Battlefield from the game developer Electronic Arts (“EA”). EA is one of Complainant’s principal competitors in the video game industry, and Battlefield game competes in the marketplace with Complainant’s MODERN WARFARE games and its other military-themed shooter games in the CALL OF DUTY series.”

Discussion: Kotaku, gameinformer, Electronic Arts UK Community, Gaming Union, RipTen, GameSpot, Benzinga, Games On Net, GoNintendo, Joystiq, IGN, ars technica, The Daily BLAM!, Game Rant, Digital Trends, VideoGamer, GameSpy, Kit Guru, MCV, The Inquirer, PCWorld, The Escapist, Facepunch, Gamasutra, VE3D, Lazygamer, The Morton Report, Spong, 1UP and bnet

Tags activision, Battlefield 3, Domain Dispute, EA, Electronic Arts, featured, Modern Warfare 3, Moderwarfare3.com

Disputes News Trademarks WIPO

Transfer denied to Systemware in domain dispute over Cite.com

Post author By J.B.
Post date June 30, 2011

This result is not surprising. Panelist Christopher J. Pibus has denied Systemware, Inc. of Addison, Texas, the domain name cite.com, in a dispute filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

On April 26, 2011, a complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. The complainant, Systemware, operates a business which provides database management software and filed filed a trademark application for the mark CITE on March 17, 2011.

According to WIPO, the Respondent Gene Volovich registered the domain name cite.com on March 26, 1997.

That’s right, Gene registered the domain name fourteen years earlier.

Systemware argued that it invested a significant amount of money to promote its business and trademark, despite only filing the application a month earlier. Even before Systemware filed for a trademark application on CITE, other trademarks had already been registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office by other companies, but never disputed.

Systemware also argued that Gene had no legitimate rights or interests to the disputed domain name because he is not commonly known by the name CITE, and was never authorized or licensed by Systemware to use the CITE trademark,which it filed for 14 years after the domain was first registered.

Panelist Christopher J. Pibus found that cite.com is identical to Systemware’s trademark CITE, except for the addition of “.com”, but since Gene registered the domain 14 years earlier, he had legitimate rights or interests to the name.

As a result of failing to satisfy the requirement for “Rights or Legitimate Interests”, Systemware was denied the domain name and no finding was made on the “Bad Faith” claim, which can help in supporting claims of reverse domain name hijacking if there is no finding of “Bad Faith”.

Although there wasn’t any finding of reverse domain name hijacking against Systemware, Gene did contend that Systemware was attempting to hijack the name.

Now it looks like Systemware will have to shell out serious bucks to purchase the name if it really wants it. The company filed another trademark application this past week on CITE, this time for cloud computing featuring software for use in database management.

Disputes National Arbitration Forum News Trademarks

Looks like Arizona State wants SunDevils.com, a naturist website

Post author By J.B.
Post date June 28, 2011
1 Comment on Looks like Arizona State wants SunDevils.com, a naturist website

The domain sundevils.com was first registered back in 1999 and throughout the years has had a lot of different uses, including re-directing to the website of Diablo Sun Devils, a naturist club founded in the San Francisco Bay Area that publishes nude photographs of women online. Its motto, “Dedicated to bringing the freedom and joy of social nudism and naturism to women everywhere.”

For Arizona State University, home of the Sun Devils, it looks like enough is enough.

A complaint (case no. 1393853) has now been filed with the National Arbitration Forum (“NAF”).

Though the complainant isn’t officially known just yet, it would only make sense that Arizona State filed the domain dispute over sundevils.com, which has claim to variety of trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office dating back to the 1980s.

ASU does use thesundevils.com, which re-directs to its official athletics site on thesundevils.cstv.com, but unsuspecting visitors who type sundevils.com into the browser’s address bar might find themselves in for a shocking surprise.

In the mid-2000s, the owner of sundevils.com did for a time, re-direct the URL to thesundevils.com according to screenshot history, but considering a number of factors such as having trademark rights, this could be a quick open and shut case for the National Arbitration Forum.

In 2008, the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona won a dispute over the domain arizonawildcats.com.

Discussion: Deadspin

(Photo of Sparky “hand waver” via Arizona State University)

Tags Arizona State, Sun Devils

Disputes News WIPO

Domain dispute proceedings over typo Twiter.com have been suspended

Post author By J.B.
Post date June 26, 2011
3 Comments on Domain dispute proceedings over typo Twiter.com have been suspended

It appears Twitter has requested that the proceedings over the disputed domain twiter.com be suspended.

The micro blogging site filed a domain dispute (case #D2011-0890) over the web address twiter.com with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in early June, days later it added twiter.biz to its case.

The owner of twiter.com has used the web address typo to trick visitors into clicking links that promise free gifts after providing personal information such as email and address.

According to the latest website update (see below) by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, the case status has been changed to ‘Suspended’, which indicates that Twitter has reached a settlement with the respondent.

As of today though, the domain names twiter.com and twiter.biz are not in the hands of Twitter and twiter.com continues to re-direct visitors to an online survey website. If the respondent in the case fails to transfer the domain names or fulfill their end of the agreement, Twitter can file a request to re-institute the proceedings.

Either way, this domain dispute seems like an open and shut case whether the case is terminated or reinstated.

Twitter’s only other case filed to date with WIPO involved twittersearch.com back in 2010, a domain dispute that also never reached a panel, but was transferred to Twitter.

Tags domain disputes, twiter.com, WIPO UDRP