YouTube Wins, Canadian Television and American Girl Lose Domain Name Decisions

Recent National Arbitration Forum Domain Name Decisions Involve YouTube, Canadian Television and American Girl

MINNEAPOLIS-- June 24, 2008 --The National Arbitration Forum issued decisions on the rights to YouTube.net, CTV.com, and AmericanGirl.net. Conflicts over domain names are on the rise. The dispute resolution provider handled 1,658 domain disputes in 2006, a 21 percent increase from the prior year, and 1,805 disputes in 2007.

The following decisions were made in accordance with the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) by independent and neutral arbitrators on the National Arbitration Forum Panel.

YouTube.net

Complainant Google Inc., owner of the popular video sharing site YouTube.com, filed a complaint on March 11, 2008 against YiWuShi Shuangfeng Jixie Youxian Gongsi of China, the registered owner of YouTube.net.

The National Arbitration Forum Panelist followed traditional UDRP principles in disregarding the functional ".net" generic top-level domain (gTLD) when determining the "YouTube" domain name was identical to Complainant's YOUTUBE trademark. The arbitrator also found that the website at the domain name advertises and displays adult-oriented content. The owner of YouTube.net registered and used the domain name in bad faith based on the fact that it was using Complainant's well-known mark to provide such content. For these reasons, the National Arbitration Forum granted transfer of YouTube.net to Google Inc. on May 5, 2008.

CTV.com

Complainant CTV Inc., a Canadian English language television network, brought a complaint against CTV.com owner Murat Yikilmaz of Turkey, on April 11, 2008.

Complainant has used the CTV mark since 1961 to identify its goods and services, and registered the CTV mark in 1974 with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. A three member Panel found that the domain name was identical to the CTV trademark. The Panel determined that the three letters which constitute the essence of the disputed domain name are generic initials used by many parties to identify many goods and services. The Panel found Respondent to be in the domain name warehousing business, specializing in three character domains. Respondent's use of CTV.com to attract Internet traffic is a legitimate business interest, especially in this case where none of the advertisements are related to Complainant's television operations. Additionally the Panel found CTV Inc. had not proven the domain name was registered or used in bad faith. The majority of the Panel denied Complainant's requested relief on June 10, 2008. Panelist Kerans dissented in the decision, inferring that Respondent likely was aware of CTV Inc.'s business and mark in Canada and the U.S.

AmericanGirl.net

American Girl, LLC, a subsidiary of Mattel that manufactures dolls and books for young girls, submitted a complaint against The Tidewinds Group, Inc on February 25, 2008 seeking transfer of AmericanGirl.net.

The National Arbitration Forum arbitrator found that the domain name was identical to the AMERICAN GIRL trademark, which Complainant had submitted into the record. Further, Respondent used the site to display links to commercial websites, proving no legitimate interest in the disputed domain name. Finally, the Panelist looked at the registration and use of the disputed domain name. It was found that Respondent registered the domain name in 2002, three years before the application filing date for the AMERICAN GIRL mark that Complainant provided. While noting that Complainant provided no evidence that it possessed common law rights or any other trademarks previous to 2005, the National Arbitration Forum Panelist found no bad faith registration or use and denied transfer of AmericanGirl.net to American Girl, LLC on April 16, 2008.

To file a claim see www.domains.adrforum.com. Contact domaindispute[at]adrforum.com with questions. Media please contact Christina Doucet at 952-516-6486 or media[at]adrforum.com.

About the National Arbitration Forum

Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, the National Arbitration Forum is an international leader in arbitration and mediation services. An innovator in the industry, the National Arbitration Forum was appointed an approved provider of the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in 1999. Since then, over 10,000 domain name disputes worldwide have been filed through the National Arbitration Forum's state-of-the-art case management system, now optimized by Forthright. For more information, visit www.domains.adrforum.com.
Contacts

National Arbitration Forum
Media:
Christina Doucet, 952-516-6486
media[at]adrforum.com

Beginner's Guide To Divorce Released

Announcing The Beginner's Guide To California Divorce

Veteran divorce attorney Robert Busch has just released, "How To Win Your California Divorce, The Beginner's Guide", a 73 page book written for California residents who are considering divorce and know little, if anything, about California divorce law.

Sacramento, California  -  April 3, 2008 — Veteran divorce attorney Robert Busch has just released, "www.californiadivorcetips.com [How To Win Your California Divorce, The Beginner's Guide", a 73 page book written for California residents who are considering divorce and know little, if anything, about California divorce law.

After consulting with thousands of men and women, the author became frustrated with the lack of easy-to-understand basic information on the divorce process in California. Many of the books on divorce are outdated, many are written by attorneys who have never practiced law in California, and some are crammed full of information the typical reader doesn't need.    

Divorce law is neither simple or easy. Whether or not lawyers are involved, there is critical information people must know if they have any hope of getting a fair settlement or favorable court ruling, should the matter go to court. Relying solely on attorneys is usually a big mistake.

Anyone hoping to win their divorce must be prepared. How To Win Your California Divorce, The Beginner's Guide, provides the reader with almost 17 years of lessons, strategies, tactics and checklists to help the reader get everything she is entitled to under California law.

How To Win Your California Divorce, The Beginner's Guide, also provides important information about preparing and filing the initial paperwork. Doing this wrong can result in the loss of significant property and/or support rights.

Three easy-to-use checklists included in How To Win Your California Divorce, The Beginner's Guide, are designed to help the reader remember the important information needed to get the best results in their divorce.

For additional information on How To Win Your California Divorce, The Beginner's Guide, contact Robert Busch or visit www.californiadivorcetips.com.         

About Robert Busch: A practicing attorney since 1986, Robert Busch earned his B.A. from the University of California, Davis, and his law degree from McGeorge School of Law, University of Pacific.

Contact:
Robert Busch
Law Office of R. Jeff Busch
Telephone: (916)859-0370
E-mail: BuschLawOffice(at)gmail.com
Website: www.CaliforniaDivorceTips.com