Presidential names

[Brett Lewis]

It probably depends on if you were registering it to sell to a particular John Smith, but I'm not sure that the law is entirely clear.

 

[Theo]

Thanks Brett. That's interesting. What do you think would happen if I owned JohnSmith.com for example? With so many John Smith's just who would be able to claim the rights to the name? Surely there isn't just one John Smith that would have the legal right to it.

Brett should correct me if I am wrong, but as long as one of the many John Smith's actually owns a tm for that name, they have a claim to it regardless of the number of other such names in existence.

 

[Dave Zan]

What do you think would happen if I owned JohnSmith.com for example? With so many John Smith's just who would be able to claim the rights to the name? Surely there isn't just one John Smith that would have the legal right to it.

IMHO it boils down to proving your claims to the neutral party who's managing
the dispute, be it an arbitration panel or a court.

Delta Faucets can sue Delta Air for delta.com if they wanted to. But if they're
not able to demonstrate likelihood of confusion, or any bad faith intent on the
airlines' part, then their suit isn't likely to prosper.

In a similar manner, John Smith from Maine has to prove likelihood of confusion
or bad faith on the registrant for JohnSmith.tld if they opt for ADR (Alternative
Dispute Resolution, like UDRP) or court. Even if John Smith wins and later gets
the domain name given to him, John Smith from Texas might file a dispute for
similar reasons.

Bottom line, there's no single authority on earth who can authoritatively say
someone has even some remote "absolute legal right" to a domain name (note
the quotation marks). Then again, legal rights are disputed every other day,
for one reason or another.

Just realistically speaking, of course.

 

[jberryhill]

Eric Menhart
CyberLaw® P.C.

Eric,

Would you care to identify the registration document which is the basis of your use the ® symbol?

 

[Theo]

Eric,

Would you care to identify the registration document which is the basis of your use the ® symbol?

I believe the proper use would be "tm" at this point

 

[jberryhill]

What else do you believe, Acro?

 

[Theo]

What else do you believe, Acro?

This one sums it up

 

[DNQuest.com]

I believe the proper use would be "tm" at this point

His site shows "tm".

 

[Theo]

His site shows "tm".

Look more carefully.

 

[DNQuest.com]

Look more carefully.

He has both, it is also on the taskbar.

Did a search with the uspto.... :no:

 

[jberryhill]

He has both, it is also on the taskbar.

Did a search with the uspto.... :no:

Perhaps Mr. Menhart has a registration in some other country.

It would be peculiar for an attorney professing competence in trademark matters to represent ownership of a registered trademark in the absence of one.

Although it would be doubly peculiar for the USPTO to register an exclusive right of any kind in a term which has for years been used in the legal community to refer to a constellation of internet-relevant legal issues. (e.g. http://www.law.stanford.edu/program/clinics/cyberlaw/ ; Rosenoer, Jonathan. Cyberlaw: The Law of the Internet. New York, N.Y.: Springer Verlag, 1996.)

 

[Brett Lewis]

John®,

I can clear this up. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has dispensed with the trademark registration process. No more messy examinations or opposition proceedings. Just slap a circle r after your favorite words, and you're a registered trademark owner.

Still not convinced? Try it!! You want to be an Internet attorney? Bam!!! You're an Internet® Attorney®. You want to be a lumberjack? Bam®!!! You're a Lumberjack®.

See? It's that simple.

Copyright 2008 © - Big® Bad® Brett® Law®
All responses to this posting are copyrighted by Big® Bad® Brett® Law® and are the sole and exclusive property of Big® Bad® Brett® Law®.

Can't we all just get along? - Jon Stewart®

 

[jberryhill]

You're a Lumberjack

...and I'm okay. I sleep all night and...

Sorry, Brett, your copyright notice is ineffective. I have just patented the method of responding to posts in this thread.

I will give you a choice, though. You can cease or desist.

You can, however, now go after Bret Faussett for his confusingly similar bret.net.

(Jon Rosenoer, btw, in addition to publishing CyberLaw: The Law of the Internet, also had the good sense to register cyberlaw.com)

 

[DNQuest.com]

Thanx® Big® Bad® Brett® Law® for the splatter of coffee® on my desk® and within my nasal cavity :lol: ®

Phil®

 

[Theo]

®OFL I love Fridays.

 

[3000records]

I have an issue with registering someone's actual name, but if it is a title or a job position, it seems more public domain. For example.. if I wanted to register matchboxtwentyrocks.com or bobdylan2008.com there is nothing wrong with that. The same applies to presidentgravel.com (which I currently have up for auction on eBay).

If someone were to take ANY site of ANY name and post false, or illegal content then it doesn't matter what the domain name is anyway. Common sense applies! I would be pretty pissed if someone registered my ACTUAL full name wouldn't you?
BUT if someone registered "myname2008" I just would not care.. unless they posted information that was false or slander.

Warm Regards,

Terrance

 

[DNQuest.com]

For example.. if I wanted to register matchboxtwentyrocks.com or bobdylan2008.com there is nothing wrong with that.

There is nothing wrong with the actual registering of the domain per se, it is the usage of the domain that would make the registration bad faith; therfore in violation o TM laws.

BUT if someone registered "myname2008" I just would not care.. unless they posted information that was false or slander.

In all honesty, would you be upset if you were famous and you found out someone was making money off of your name? Or selling items with you name on it? Or worse yet, sending visitors to areas to which you don't like? Like anything else, you need to protect your image within the confines of the law.

 

[jberryhill]

would you be upset if you were famous and you found out someone was making money off of your name?

It's not as simple as all that. Is TMZ.com making a fortune off of Britney Spears - why indeed they are.

Can I write a biography of a famous person and sell it? You bet I can.

Politicians have less protection, and for a reason.

Consider:

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Geor...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200694989&sr=8-1

This guy is making money simply by quoting things that George W Bush says.

 

[Theo]

This guy is making money simply by quoting things that George W Bush says.

He had to clear out about 1% of non-Bushism talk from Dubya's speeches

 

[jberryhill]

He had to clear out about 1% of non-Bushism talk from Dubya's speeches

The one about reducing malpractice claims so that "gynecologists can practice their... love" is my favorite.

Maybe tied with the one where our enemies "never stop thinking of ways to harm our country - and neither do we."

He should register them all as trademarks before Brett Lewis does.

Speaking of big bad Brett law, we might soon see "Domain Attorney Cage Match II". Makes me queasy just thinking about it. He's back, he's bald, he's better than before....