Domain Tasting: Clever & Strategic Business Practice or Sneaky Underhanded Manoeuvre?

"Domain tasting" refers to the practice of registering a domain name and taking advantage of the 5-day Add Grace Period (AGP), which is activated upon registration, for the purpose of assessing the profitability of said domain. The full price of the domain remains completely refundable until the AGP expires, at which point the registrant becomes […]

"Hotel" is a generic word

Thanks to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, it is now clear that "hotel" is a generic word. Hotels.com attempted to register the mark for the services of "providing information for others about temporary lodging; travel agency services, namely, making reservations and bookings for temporary lodging for others by means of telephone […]

Trademark v. Free Speech

Does free speech overrule a trademark owner's interest in a domain name? According to Sutherland Institute v. Continuative LLC, a recent case by a WIPO domain dispute arbitration panel, the answer could be yes. Maybe. The case is interesting for two reasons: its discussion of free speech protection and domain names, and the deference of […]

Trademark Holders vs. Web-Domain Owners: How Much Protection is Enough?

Balancing the rights of trademark holders and registered web-domain owners is a complicated process. Understandably, trademark holders wish to protect their intellectual property rights and prevent cyber-squatters from acquiring valuable domain names for an illegitimate purpose. Conversely, domain owners argue that corporations should not be granted the automatic right to acquire any domain that can […]

What Jay Leno taught me about domain name disputes

If you were looking for information on Jay Leno's talk shows, what would you type into the browser's URL bar? There are a number of possibilities, but odds are many people might try TheJayLenoShow.com as it is the name of his new show and the common name of his old show. It makes sense but […]

ICANN and Internet Big Bang

The announcement by ICANN to open the Internet to a limitless number of domains has been a cause of stir since June 2008 when Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) accepted this recommendation of its global stakeholders.  ICANN's website describes itself as a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation aimed at coordinating and maintaining the integrity […]

The CyberSquatting Wheel Keeps Turning

Ashlee Froese is an Osgoode Hall alumnus and currently practices intellectual property at the law firm of Keyser Mason Ball LLP. Sibling Rivalry: The intersection of Domain Names and Trade-marks Domain names and trade-mark owners have always had a contentious co-existence.  Whereas trade-mark rights are granted on a use basis, domain names are registered on […]

Facebook: A New Dimension to Cybersquatting

Ashlee Froese is an Osgoode Hall alumnus and currently practices intellectual property at the law firm of Keyser Mason Ball LLP. Facebook Inc.'s New Policy On June 9, 2009 Facebook Inc. announced that it would be releasing personalized URLs for Facebook profiles (i.e. "facebook.com/AshleeFroese" as opposed to previously used profile URLs "facebook.com/followed by a randomly […]

CIRA Panel issues its first clear finding of “reverse domain name hijacking”

The April 15, 2009 decision by a CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority) domain name dispute resolution Panel (the Panel) marks the first clear finding of "reverse domain name hijacking." This phrase refers to the practice of acquiring domain names from owners by accusing them of violating trade-marks with the domain name and demanding that the […]

OBA Conference: "Intellectual Property Issues in a Non-IP Context"

On May 4th, the Ontario Bar Association presented "Intellectual Property Issues in a Non-IP Context". This conference brought together professionals from several practice areas, such as criminal law, insurance law and employment law. The focus of the conference was to draw attention to the variety of IP issues that exist within many areas of the […]