FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sachin R. Mehta or Anand Sanwal
Cell: (310) 562-6068 or (917) 279-2101
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Domain Name Bullying in India: Indian Company Goes After American Entrepreneur
Internet domain name dispute between Indian company and Indian-American entrepreneur could have far reaching consequences for entrepreneurs and corporations doing business in or looking to do business in India
Bharat Matrimony (www.bharatmatrimony.com), an Indian matrimonial company backed by prominent investors such as Yahoo, the Mayfield Fund and Canaan Venture Partners, is taking aggressive and questionable steps to tie up the internet in India in a case that will have significant consequences for the development of internet companies in India, for internet domain name owners and for trademark owners.
In a recently filed claim with NIXI, the National Internet Exchange of India (www.nixi.co.in), Consim Info Private Limited - the owners of BharatMatrimony have filed a claim against Mr. Anand Sanwal, alleging that his website, www.tamilmatrimony.co.in, is infringing on the use of the term
"Tamil matrimony," which Consim claims as its own.
Mr. Sanwal, an Indian-American author and entrepreneur based in New York City, was surprised to received a 170 page complaint, consisting mostly of photocopies of trademark case law, from BharatMatrimony several weeks ago through NIXI. After speaking with several trademark and domain name experts in the US and abroad, Mr. Sanwal decided that BharatMatrimony's attempts to confiscate his domain name should be challenged and that its case was built merely on the hopes that the respondent would "get scared and turn the domain name over."
"This effort by BharatMatrimony is very alarming and so out of principle, we will argue against it," according to Sanwal. "If they are successful, it sets a very dangerous precedent especially for companies hoping to do business in India utilizing the internet. The idea that you can allege a generic term like Tamil matrimony which has been around and used long before the internet is synonymous with BharatMatrimony is dubious at best. "
He adds, "If they're successful, I suppose the folks who own any other generic Indian term will file similar claims. I have full confidence, however, that NIXI will see through this effort and discourage such efforts going forward. The executives at NIXI understand that allowing such
behavior would only hurt the development of the internet in India."
Sanwal's legal counsel, led by Sachin R. Mehta, a Los Angeles based attorney who has been involved in various trademark and domain name cases before, adds, "The basic principle against their claim is that the domain name they are seeking to absorb is generic, and that they simply don't have the market share to claim any secondary meaning. Importantly, this means that a decision in their favor would put other competitors using the generic term, like tamilmatrimony.net, tamilmatrimony.co.uk and 1rupeetamilmatrimony.com, at a disadvantage simply because they understood the law and thus, did not file a lawsuit. I'm sure NIXI will view the evidence and realize that
BharatMatrimony's claim is illegitimate."
"They are seeking to use trademark law to improperly tilt the market for internet matrimony sites in their favor in hopes of soliciting more business to the detriment of their competitors and at the expense of innocent users like Mr. Sanwal. We're taking a principled stand."
Asked whether he thinks Mr. Sanwal would prevail, Mr. Mehta stated, "The law and the facts are on our side. I think it says something that counsel for Consim (Private Info Ltd.) never attempted to contact Mr. Sanwal before filing suit." He added, "I think they were hoping that Mr. Sanwal wouldn't respond since he lives in the United States."
Given the interest Sanwal and Mehta have received in the case surrounding www.tamilmatrimony.co.in, they're keeping those interested in seeing how this unfolds updated via a blog they're hosting at
www.stopdomainnamebullying.com
If you are a blogger, journalist or other interested party and would like more information on this topic, please contact Sachin R. Mehta at (310) 562-6068 or Anand Sanwal at (917) 279-2101 or email them at [email protected].
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What do you think?
Contact: Sachin R. Mehta or Anand Sanwal
Cell: (310) 562-6068 or (917) 279-2101
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Domain Name Bullying in India: Indian Company Goes After American Entrepreneur
Internet domain name dispute between Indian company and Indian-American entrepreneur could have far reaching consequences for entrepreneurs and corporations doing business in or looking to do business in India
Bharat Matrimony (www.bharatmatrimony.com), an Indian matrimonial company backed by prominent investors such as Yahoo, the Mayfield Fund and Canaan Venture Partners, is taking aggressive and questionable steps to tie up the internet in India in a case that will have significant consequences for the development of internet companies in India, for internet domain name owners and for trademark owners.
In a recently filed claim with NIXI, the National Internet Exchange of India (www.nixi.co.in), Consim Info Private Limited - the owners of BharatMatrimony have filed a claim against Mr. Anand Sanwal, alleging that his website, www.tamilmatrimony.co.in, is infringing on the use of the term
"Tamil matrimony," which Consim claims as its own.
Mr. Sanwal, an Indian-American author and entrepreneur based in New York City, was surprised to received a 170 page complaint, consisting mostly of photocopies of trademark case law, from BharatMatrimony several weeks ago through NIXI. After speaking with several trademark and domain name experts in the US and abroad, Mr. Sanwal decided that BharatMatrimony's attempts to confiscate his domain name should be challenged and that its case was built merely on the hopes that the respondent would "get scared and turn the domain name over."
"This effort by BharatMatrimony is very alarming and so out of principle, we will argue against it," according to Sanwal. "If they are successful, it sets a very dangerous precedent especially for companies hoping to do business in India utilizing the internet. The idea that you can allege a generic term like Tamil matrimony which has been around and used long before the internet is synonymous with BharatMatrimony is dubious at best. "
He adds, "If they're successful, I suppose the folks who own any other generic Indian term will file similar claims. I have full confidence, however, that NIXI will see through this effort and discourage such efforts going forward. The executives at NIXI understand that allowing such
behavior would only hurt the development of the internet in India."
Sanwal's legal counsel, led by Sachin R. Mehta, a Los Angeles based attorney who has been involved in various trademark and domain name cases before, adds, "The basic principle against their claim is that the domain name they are seeking to absorb is generic, and that they simply don't have the market share to claim any secondary meaning. Importantly, this means that a decision in their favor would put other competitors using the generic term, like tamilmatrimony.net, tamilmatrimony.co.uk and 1rupeetamilmatrimony.com, at a disadvantage simply because they understood the law and thus, did not file a lawsuit. I'm sure NIXI will view the evidence and realize that
BharatMatrimony's claim is illegitimate."
"They are seeking to use trademark law to improperly tilt the market for internet matrimony sites in their favor in hopes of soliciting more business to the detriment of their competitors and at the expense of innocent users like Mr. Sanwal. We're taking a principled stand."
Asked whether he thinks Mr. Sanwal would prevail, Mr. Mehta stated, "The law and the facts are on our side. I think it says something that counsel for Consim (Private Info Ltd.) never attempted to contact Mr. Sanwal before filing suit." He added, "I think they were hoping that Mr. Sanwal wouldn't respond since he lives in the United States."
Given the interest Sanwal and Mehta have received in the case surrounding www.tamilmatrimony.co.in, they're keeping those interested in seeing how this unfolds updated via a blog they're hosting at
www.stopdomainnamebullying.com
If you are a blogger, journalist or other interested party and would like more information on this topic, please contact Sachin R. Mehta at (310) 562-6068 or Anand Sanwal at (917) 279-2101 or email them at [email protected].
-----
What do you think?
