The facts are unproven allegations of the Plaintiff and all commentary is based upon the allegations, the truthfulness and accuracy of which are likely in dispute.
MARC RASMUSSEN v. SARASOTA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, INC.
EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
FILED: 9/15/2008
1:08-CV-00954
This case is a perfect example of how you handle a decision by the arbitration panel under the UDRP guidelines when a bad decision is reached, which appears to be happening more and more often. Note that you can bring a lawsuit like this against either the domain name and/or the parties contesting your rights to the domain name in the jurisdiction of the registrar, or registry.
Rasmussen lost a UDRP arbitration over his ownership of the "thesarasotamls.com" domain name. The arbitration panel ordered that the domain name be transferred to the Defendant. This "in rem" lawsuit followed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria division, which is the location of Network Solutions, LLC, the registrar of this particular domain name and also the acting registry of many registrars.
This is a lawsuit not only over the domain name under "in rem" jurisdiction but also against the Defendant for declaratory and injunctive relief of non-infringement. The lawsuit also requests an award of attorney's fees, court costs, and other relief as the court deems proper and just. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1226.
H. JAY SPIEGEL & ASSOCIATES, P.C. v. STEVEN M. SPIEGEL
EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA (ALEXANDRIA)
FILED: 9/12/2008
1:08-CV-00949
This type of lawsuit is becoming more prevalent. In this instance you have a trademark registered by the law firm and used in a very narrow geographic region. A website launched anywhere could arguably solicit legal services within that region and one of the more prevalent issues online relating to business names is the expansion of the geographic use of business names, which obviously leads to many more conflicts than in the pre-Internet days.
The Plaintiff, a law firm, filed suit against an individual with a similar name that launched a website at "www.spiegellaw.com". The content of the website allegedly caused confusion by associating the website with Plaintiff's law firm.
The lawsuit includes a count for federal trademark infringement, federal unfair competition, and trademark infringement and unfair competition under Virginia common law. The relief requested includes an award of damages, and the entry of an injunction enjoining and restraining the Defendant from using the domain name in connection with the advertisement or rendering of legal services online. There is no claim for cybersquatting asserted. Traverse Internet Law Cross-Reference Number 1227.
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