Political Domain Name Infringement and Law

[CyberLaw.pro]

With the political season heating up, I though I'd point folks to a recent blog post on my firm's blog:

"Political Domain Name Infringement and Law"

Currently available at:
http://www.cyberlaw.pro

Firm's Blog: "CyberLawg:"
http://www.cyberlawg.com

Permalink:
http://www.cyberlaw.pro/cyberlawg/domain-names/political-domain-name-infringement-and-law.html

Abstract: "As this election year heats up candidates in all types of political races are trying to reach likely voters at their doors, on their telephones and on the Internet. In this race for voters you might guess that a candidate’s domain name plays an important role in sharing his or her message with likely voters. What if a candidate’s domain name is already taken by a third party? What if a candidate’s name has already been taken by their opponent?"

Both political candidates and domainers should be abreast of the happenings in this area, particularly in hot election years like this one.

 

[npcomplete]

Interesting story about KerryEdwards.com. I didn't know that. As a hypothetical, would the real Kerry Edwards have problems if they approached the campaign to sell their own name prior to be approached by the DNC? It sounds like the campaign approached the person Kerry Edwards first, and they refused to sell... probably would have sold for $$$$

The other interesting thing was the comment about "The California Political Cyberfraud Abatement Act". I am looking forward to that being tested by somebody out there. Should be fun to watch from the sidelines.

 

[flamewalker]

If their name was Kerry Edwards, as long as they don't make any major blunders they ideally should have been fine against any attempts to dislodge it through udrp. Of coarse, some panelists are idiots so its always wise to seek counsel.

 

[npcomplete]

If their name was Kerry Edwards, as long as they don't make any major blunders they ideally should have been fine against any attempts to dislodge it through udrp. Of coarse, some panelists are idiots so its always wise to seek counsel.

I think my question was a little different. We have an owner that has clear rights to their own name, and a political campaign that would like to own it. Would the owner have problems if they made the first contact? In reality, the first contact was made by the potential buyer, and the owner said "no".

Not entirely hypothetical. I have owned a domain since around 1996 that is now a famous mark, and the TM was registered a few years ago (many years after I bought the name). The name has been in common use for over 2000 years, and I use the domain in a different category. I *know* I am safe. But would I have problems if I were to approach the mark holder that is currently using the mark in a different category. So it is quite similar to the KerryEdwards.com example: Current owner is safe, but what happens if they approach a mark holder that you know would like to buy the domain. My *guess* is that in my case it would be a problem.

 

[flamewalker]

Well you wouldn't have bad faith against you if you have been using it in non-infringing manners for years, and if you have owned it for years it would be idiotical to try to make it look like you bought it to sell it to the tm owner. I don't think they could win on any points.

I would consult a lawyer ... they can write up an appropriate contact to make sure they know they wouldn't stand a chance in hell if they decided to udrp, but if they want the name they can contact you... or something of that effect.

Or... they may say no don't contact them, they will just udrp and will cost you $x dollars to fight it anyways.