Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Safe Harbor for Service Providers under the Anticybersquatting Act
GoDaddy.com, which is the largest registrar in the United States with more than 60 million domain names under management, has been the prevailing defendant in two major lawsuits under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), 15 U.S.C. '1125(d) Cyberpiracy Prevention. See, Petroliam Nasional Berhad, 737 F.3d 546 (9th Cir. 2013), and Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS), CV 10-03738 (C.D.Ca. Sept. 10, 2015), decided on Sept. 10 of this year after a bench trial a month earlier. In both cases, plaintiffs sought to hold a defendant liable for contributory or secondary infringement rather than “direct” cybersquatting under the ACPA. Although the factual circumstances underlying the claims are different, the principal reason for plaintiffs' lack of success lies in a fundamental misunderstanding of the ACPA.
The ACPA was Congress' statutory response to the scourge of registering, trafficking in, or using domain names with the bad faith intent of profiting from marks. See, 15 U.S.C. '1125(d)(1)(A)(i and ii). While the ACPA is part of the Trademark Act of 1946 (the Lanham Act), 15 U.S.C. ”1051-1129, cybersquatting ' or cyber piracy as the statute is denominated ' is not a traditional trademark infringement but a statutory violation of another kind. The intent necessary to prove trademark infringement and cybersquatting is measured by entirely different standards.
This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only
ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE SINGLE SOURCE OF OBJECTIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS, PRACTICAL INSIGHTS, AND NEWS IN ENTERTAINMENT LAW.
- Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
- Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
- Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts
Already a have an account? Sign In Now Log In Now
For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.