“Baby Shark” is a worldwide hit with toddlers and young children. Smart Study Co., Ltd. (South Korea) initiated legal proceedings in New York against more than a hundred defendants, individuals, and companies based in China, for infringement of the BABY SHARK trademark and copyright. The dazzling worldwide success of “Baby Shark” has generated a wave…
The US company Catalyzer, Inc. has initiated UDRP proceedings against a Russian national who owns the domain name catalyzer.com. Catalyzer, Inc. unsurprisingly lost the case (NAF, FA2006001900506, Catalyzer, Inc v. Alexander Bitkin, July 27, 2020): the request presented two insurmountable deficiencies. The first concerns the generic nature of the word “catalyzer.” In this case, the…
Emily Rose Trust had to transfer the domain name uglyhousesri.com following UDRP proceedings (NAF, FA2003001889990, HomeVestors of America, Inc. v. Emily Rose / NCRS, May 20, 2020). As of May 29, 2020, this company made an “appeal” to the Board Accountability Mechanisms Committee (BAMC) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) with…
Amazon has announced that as of September 1, 2020, the seller’s business name and address will have to appear on the seller’s page while operating on Amazon.com, as is the case with many jurisdictions, including the European Union. The sellers may also add any other information that they deem relevant, with the exception of the…
On June 27, 2020, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) revoked the .AIGO brandTLD. The Chinese company Aigo Digital Technology Co, Ltd, manufacturer of electronic products, had obtained the acquisition of this top-level domain in 2016, probably intending to conquer the non-Chinese speaking markets. Many Chinese companies have acquired a brandTLD, either exclusively…
On February 26, 2020, the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications entered into force (wipo.int). Recently, a Shanghai court condemned an infringer to a suspended prison sentence and a fine for counterfeiting Bordeaux wines. This decision follows an investigation and the seizure, in March 2019, of nearly 10,000…
Analysis of the UDRP decisions made following procedures started during the COVID-19 pandemic reminds us of the impossibility of predicting all cybersquatting cases. These decisions also reveal certain flaws in the management of domain name portfolios. During the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009, Hoffmann-La Roche faced a series of cybersquatting cases targeting the “Tamiflu” trademark:…
Amazon and Valentino join forces to sue Kaitlyn Pan and Hao Pan before a Washington State court for infringement of intellectual property rights (Amazon and Valentino v. Kaitlyn Pan Group and Hao Pan, box 2: 20- cv-00934 (Western District Washington)). It is not the first time that Amazon joins an intellectual property rights holder in…
In a judgment of April 30, 2020 (CJEU, April 30, 2020, A v. B., aff. C ‑ 772/18), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on the application, to natural persons, of the prohibition provided for in Article 5 of the Directive of October 22, 2008, approximating the laws of the Member States…
Google completes its procedures for a more reliable Internet. Traditionally, brand owners have had the chance to request the removal of content such as paid advertising (Google Adwords) or downloadable applications from Google Play. However, there was no procedure for removing an unsponsored link on Google Search. Google now extends its engagement in the fight against the…
June 10, 2020, is the 22nd World Anti-Counterfeiting Day. Created on the initiative of the members of the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Network (GACN), it aims to raise awareness among a broad audience of the reality and consequences of counterfeiting. Promoted by globalization, the progression of the Internet penetration rate and many other factors, the share that…
The World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Center (WIPO-AMC) widens the range of extrajudicial procedures it administers to resolve disputes relating to ccTLDs domain names registered. Internet Computer Bureau (ICB), the registry of .AC (Ascension Island), .SH (Saint Helena) and .IO (British Indian Ocean Territory) has designated WIPO-AMC to administer the .AC, .IO and…
JM Weston (France) sued The Frye Company (USA), a subsidiary of Global Brands GroupHolding Ltd. (Hong Kong), before the Paris court of first instance for counterfeiting and unfair competition (TJ Paris, 3rd ch., 3rd sect., May 29, 2020: No. RG 19/10042 – No. Portalis 352J-W-B7D-CQSRQ). The Frye Company had reproduced and imitated JM Weston trademarks…
The .PLACE sunrise period took place in 2014. The registration conditions were then ordinary. However, in 2018, Donuts (the registry) decided to apply restrictions to this TLD. These restrictions are now lifted, as of June 1, 2020, so that everyone is eligible to register .PLACE domain names.
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and EURid, the registry of European top-level domains, announce plans to intensify their collaboration with the view of supporting small and medium enterprises in obtaining European trademarks and European domain names. The goal, always desired by IP Twins, aims to facilitate the concomitant obtaining of European trademarks and…
The UDRP decision FA 1893706, rendered on May 22, 2020, under the aegis of the National Arbitration Forum, deserves careful reading (NAF, FA 1893706, HomeGoods, Inc. v. Jiahongnetwork / jiahongnetwork jiahongnetwork, May 22, 2020, transfer). The dispute was between the owner of the HOMEGOODS trademark (an American company) and the owner of the domain name home-goods.shop…
China’s e-commerce giant owned by Alibaba Group, Taobao (淘宝网) has again landed on the annual Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy for 2019, released by the Administration’s Office of the United Sates Trade Representative (USTR) on April 29, 2020. It is the fourth year in a row that the largest online marketplace in…
Extrajudicial procedures for the settlement of disputes relating to Chinese domain names are governed by the China National Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (CNNIC Policy) and Rules (CNNIC Rules). Compared to the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), this legal corpus contains special features that, in particular circumstances, can make the case relatively complicated. The HKIAC…
On February 28, 2020, the Lille court (France) rendered a judgment (Legalis.net), the facts of which, as well as the compensation ordered, deserve great attention. Here are the quick facts: The Jeco company requested the court to rule, on the one hand, that the trademark application (for the trademark no. 4343637) had been made fraudulently…
HT Media, Ltd. and Hindustan Media Venture Ltd. are owners of “HINDUSTAN” trademarks, which designates one of the most popular Indian daily newspapers, with more than 50 million prints. These two companies expect to obtain the transfer of the domain name hindustan.com, owned by the American company Brainlink International, Inc. On December 24, 2019, they…
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