[lac-discuss-en] GigaOM article : Louis Vuitton asks for SOPA-like seizure of hundreds of websites

Carlton Samuels carlton.samuels at gmail.com
Mon May 14 03:38:57 UTC 2012


Thanks for this Dev.

On the bright side, these fellows are taking action in court and using
applicable US law, not the summary extra-judicial seizures of Homeland
Security/ICE. A third party must be convinced of the merits of the case.

They invoked provisions of Lanham; 15 USC 1125(d), to wit:

'(d) *Cyberpiracy prevention*
(1)
(A) A person shall be liable in a civil action by the owner of a mark,
including a personal name which is protected as a mark under this section,
if, without regard to the goods or services of the parties, that person—
(i) has a bad faith intent to profit from that mark, including a personal
name which is protected as a mark under this section; and
 (ii) registers, traffics in, or uses a domain name that—
(I) in the case of a mark that is distinctive at the time of registration
of the domain name, is identical or confusingly similar to that mark;
 (II) in the case of a famous mark that is famous at the time of
registration of the domain name, is identical or confusingly similar to or
dilutive of that mark; or
 (III) is a trademark, word, or name protected by reason of section
706<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/706> of
title 18 <http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18> or section
220506<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/36/220506> of
title 36 <http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/36>.'
They 'pray' judgment on all counts as well as '*equitable relief against
defendants*'.  The judge's response to that second part is to be keenly
watched.

While the counts could be mistakenly conflated and to ICANN's detriment,
 only one (1) of the four (4) alleged is really germane to ICANN interests;
Count III: Claim for Relief of Cybersquatting.

Here's what the writ of mandamus prays in respect of the 381 domains:

"b. Entry of an order requiring the Subject Domain Names, and any
other domain names being used by Defendants to engage in the business of
marketing, offering to sell and/or selling goods bearing counterfeits and
infringements of the Louis Vuitton Marks to be disabled and/or immediately
transferred by Defendants, their Registrars and/or the Registries to Louis
Vuitton’s control so they may no longer be used for illegal purposes.

c. Entry of an Order that, upon Louis Vuitton’s request, the top level
domain (TLD) Registries for the Subject Domain Names and their
administrators place the Subject Domain Names on Registry Hold status, thus
removing them from the TLD zone files maintained by the Registries which
link the Subject Domain Names to the IP addresses where the associated
websites are hosted.

d. Entry of an Order that, upon Louis Vuitton’s request, those in privity
with Defendants and those with notice of the injunction, including any
Internet search engines, Webhosts, domain-name registrars and
domain-name registries or their administrators that are provided with
notice of the injunction, cease facilitating access to any or all domain
names and websites through which Defendants engage in the sale of
counterfeit and infringing goods using the Louis Vuitton Marks.

e. Entry of an order that, upon Louis Vuitton’s request, the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) shall take all actions
necessary to ensure that the Registrars and the top level domain Registries
or their administrators responsible for the Subject Domain Names transfer,
change the Registrar of Record, and/or disable the Subject Domain Names as
directed by the Court. "


Let's see what happens now.

- Carlton

==============================
Carlton A Samuels
Mobile: 876-818-1799
*Strategy, Planning, Governance, Assessment & Turnaround*
=============================


On Fri, May 11, 2012 at 9:57 AM, Dev Anand Teelucksingh <devtee at gmail.com>wrote:

> GigaOM article : Louis Vuitton asks for SOPA-like seizure of hundreds
> of websites
>
> http://gigaom.com/2012/05/11/louis-vuitton-asks-for-sopa-like-seizure-of-hundreds-of-websites/
>
> The injunction order filed in the Florida court
> http://www.scribd.com/doc/93228219/Louis-Vuittion-Complaint
>
> lists the 381 domains and the filed injunction includes "..Entry of an
> order that, upon Louis Vuitton’s request, the Internet Corporation for
> Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) shall take all actions necessary
> to ensure that the Registrars and the top level domain Registries or
> their administrators responsiblefor the Subject Domain Names transfer,
> change the Registrar of Record, and/or disable the Subject Domain
> Names as directed by the Court."
>
> ---
>
> Dev Anand Teelucksingh
>
> _______________________________________________
> lac-discuss-en mailing list
> lac-discuss-en at atlarge-lists.icann.org
> https://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/lac-discuss-en
>


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