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A good reminder for people to register their birth names and namesakes...
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/hollywood/sfl-flbbober0124sbjan24,0,3286353.story
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/hollywood/sfl-flbbober0124sbjan24,0,3286353.story
Hollywood mayor's bid for personal Web domain hits a wall
Complaint to register a domain name fails; outcome not unusualBy
Ihosvani Rodriguez | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
January 24, 2009
As Hollywood Mayor Peter Bober tries to make a name for himself in the political world, it appears he's encountered a glitch in the Internet world.
During his election campaign in 2007, Bober tried to create a PeterBober.com Web site only to find out someone else owns the domain name. A lawyer by trade, Bober filed a complaint last October with the Switzerland-based World Intellectual Property Organization, which oversees domain name disputes.
In his complaint, Bober argued that "Peter Bober" was a common law trademark he uses as both a lawyer and a public servant. He also argued it sounds similar to his copyrighted "Bober & Bober, P.A., Attorneys at Law" â the law firm he runs with his wife, Samara.
The mediators weren't moved, and cited numerous cases to reject Bober's complaint, including a 2004 federal lawsuit filed by former Maryland legislator Robin Ficker.
Ficker complained someone was publishing disparaging articles about him on RobinFicker.com but he lost.
The names of businessmen and politicians are not protected, the group ruled.
Records show PeterBober.com is registered to "Peter Bober" of the National Institute for Mortgage Education, in California. The listed number is disconnected.
A number of local mayors have Web sites with their own names, including Fort Lauderdale Is your Fort Lauderdale restaurant clean? - Click Here. Mayor Jim Naugle, Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper, and Delray Beach Mayor Rita Ellis. Most use the sites for elections.
Davie Mayor Tom Truex owns Tomtruex.com, Tomtruex.org and Tomtruex.net, but he doesn't use them. He said he bought them after he joined the commission to prevent others from using them.
"I didn't want to become a cybersquatter victim," he said.
Bober shrugged off the cyber-rejection: he since has purchased PeterBober.net.
Ihosvani Rodriguez can be reached at [email protected] or 954-385-7908.