precis #3 (Cybersquatting)

Cybersquatting is when you control the domain name to something or someone that everyone knows. The example of juliaroberts.com, the person had bought numerous domain names with similar actors and actresses and was auctioning the names. The UDRP (Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy) and ACPA (Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act) are set up to figure out whether or not the domain owner is in 'bad faith' . They figure out if the domain is identical to that of the actress's name, if that actress had a trademark or trademark rights in her name, whether or not the domain owner had any legitimate rights to the domain name, and whether the use by the domain owner was in bad faith. The administrative panel found that although she had no trademark rights to her name, the public distinguished that her actual name and the name of the actress were indentified. Because of this, and the fact that the person had done this sort of behavior before, they ordered the domain name to go to the real Julia Roberts. Another example of this would be the Falwell domain name case. Falwell is a televangelist who claimed Gary Cohn violated trademarks by using his name to post parodies of the man. Public Citizen is a non-profit group that argued Cohn was only exercising his freedom of speech. He was acquitted and the court found that they had no jurisdiction because he did not live in Virginia, which is where Falwell resides. The argument was that the site was for a national audience. I think what is important with these three correlating articles is how the Internet is becomming a platform for legal battles. With the growing amount of people on the web there is a smaller and smaller window to get your say in. Everyone wants to be recognized for their acheivements, but there is a big difference when you buy the rights to something that isnt yours, then look to sell it for a high price.