[NA-Discuss] New York company sues man over 16-year-old domain

Joly MacFie joly at punkcast.com
Thu Jul 2 04:57:40 UTC 2015


http://www.trademarksandbrandsonline.com/news/new-york-company-sues-man-over-16-year-old-domain-4416

New York-based company Office Space Solutions has sued domain name reseller
Jason Kneen in an attempt to secure the domain workbetter.com, registered
16 years before it started using the term.

Kneen registered the domain in 1999 but Office Space’s trademark filing on
the US Patent and Trademark Office’s website says the company did not start
using the ‘Work Better’ term in commerce until February 11 this year—four
days after Kneen renewed the domain name.

In May this year, the company received a trademark for the term ‘Work
Better’ in class 35, which covers advertising and business services. It had
applied for the mark in April 2014.

Office Space Solutions sought injunctive relief for alleged acts of
cybersquatting at the US District Court for the Southern District of New
York last Wednesday, June 24.

The company accused Kneen of trying to force the company to spend
“significant sums” to buy the workbetter.com domain name.

“On May 15, 2014, the defendant attempted to sell workbetter.com to the
plaintiff for a figure that he stated would be a high price,” the company
said in its complaint.

But Kneen told *TBO* that Office Space approached him to buy the domain
name and had offered him $500, which he refused.

He added that he has not been served any official papers related to the
suit.

Office Space added in its complaint: “The defendant is not using
workbetter.com. He is simply holding the domain name with a bad-faith
intent to profit from the ‘Work Better’ service mark.”

The company argued that Kneen is violating the Anticybersquatting Consumer
Protection Act and that his actions have caused, and will continue to
cause, irreparable injury to the company.

It has asked for declaratory judgment that Kneen has engaged in
cybersquatting and for an order allowing the transfer of the workbetter.com
domain name to it.

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