Posted on 09/12/2005 2:19:20 PM PDT by Cagey
GENEVA -- Comedian Bill Cosby won control of an Internet domain name including the name of the Fat Albert cartoon he created in the 1960s, under a ruling issued Monday by a United Nations panel.
Arbitrators for the World Intellectual Property Organization ordered the transfer of the domain name http://www.fatalbert.org to the American actor, who had complained that it infringed his trademark rights and was being used in bad faith to divert Internet traffic to a commercial search engine and a Web site selling sexually explicit products.
The ruling upheld Cosby's complaint against the individual that registered the name - Sterling Davenport, of Loretto, Tennessee.
Cosby created the Fat Albert cartoon character of the late 1960s as part of his standup comedy routine about his childhood in Philadelphia. The children's series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids first appeared on the U.S. television network CBS in 1972 and a Fat Albert movie was released last year.
Arbitrator John Kidd noted he had no response from Davenport, but said that "the respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name."
Kidd also concluded that the domain name was "identical or confusingly similar to the complainant's Fat Albert marks" and the trademark was used deliberately and confusingly.
"That on its own is sufficient in the panel's view to constitute bad faith registration and use," he added.
A number of celebrities have already won the Internet version of their names back through U.N. arbitration, including Morgan Freeman, Julia Roberts, Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Pamela Anderson, Pierce Brosnan and Carmen Electra.
Anyone can register a domain name for a few dollars, which has led to so-called "cybersquatters."
The U.N. arbitration system, which started in 1999, allows those who think they have the right to a domain to get it back without having to fight a costly legal battle or pay large sums of money.
"The U.N. arbitration system, which started in 1999, allows those who think they have the right to a domain to get it back without having to fight a costly legal battle or pay large sums of money."
Another reason to not like the U.N.
Keep the UN from owning the internet. It's NOT theirs.
Another reason to not like the U.N.
I despise the UN, but wish there was another venu for satisfaction about these issues. Here is why:
A friend has a business that manufactures chromatography supplies. His webmaster must have been in a coma, because the registration lapsed and was pounced on by someone in California who makes a living doing this: His website displayed pornographic ads suddenly. He was then contacted, and for a fee of a thousand dollars he could buy it back.
As a good Scot, of course he did not, he registered another name, and had all his staionary reprinted.
This is extortion, of course, but the FBI does not have any interest in these things unless it amounts to some magic number, like $50,000 or so.
In like manner, Cosby was expected to beg for the domain and pay an extortionate price for his own property.
Come to think of it ...
What power does this united nations kangaroo court have here in the USA ???
This is the same as an attempted coup by a foreign power to overthrow the govt of the United States and to enslave American Citizens.
I hope for their safety sake (I really don't care) , these Masters are in their own country and not inside our borders.
Nah...can't be!
Underdog has eyebrows (see pic and compare).
Ooooooh! What happened to Al Gore? He is so fat!!!Wonder what Tipper looks like.
Sorry, don't Tipper's latest pic, but Albert and her look something like this together.
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I think he swallowed her.
Wrong.
The problem is the Domain Name Registrars. They have no business giving a domain name containing a copyright or trademark protected name to anyone other than the trademark or copyright holder. It's another form of idenitiy theft.
HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!Love it!!!!
Big brother protecting the rich and the famous. Julia Roberts did the same when she snatched juliaroberts.com away from its rightful owner.
So if a man has a pet duck named Donald, he should not be allowed to have a site with a dot com devoted to it? If i wanted a site called thetencommandments.com should I have to give it to the estate of Cecil B. Demille? This is just internet eminent domain, with the government taking a person's property just because a richer, more powerful person wants it.
Do you understand trademark law? If my last name is Sears could I start a department store named "Sears" and not have to worry about Sears & Roebuck Co lawyers knocking on my door? Could I start a website called Sears.com (if Sears didn't already have it)?
If i wanted a site called thetencommandments.com should I have to give it to the estate of Cecil B. Demille?
The site thetencommandments.com already exists and there is nothing to indicate they needed to receive permission from the DeMille estate to set it up. Now if someone wanted to set up thetencommandmentsmovie.com there would be a problem.
"In like manner, Cosby was expected to beg for the domain and pay an extortionate price for his own property."
His own property? I don`t think Mr. Cosby ever owned the domain name. He got beat to the punch and started whining like a baby. Is Mr. Crosby going to sue anyone who has "Fat Albert" in their domain names now? Oh wait, no he doesn`t have to now because the U.N. will give them to him.
Someone else owns the domain name which is the same as my business` name, do I now have the right to go in an request it be "given" to me? Absolutely not.
This whole U.N. controling the internet is baloney. You shouldn`t be rewarded for sleeping at the wheel. What it boils down to is a bunch of rich people/business` finding a way to get what they want for nothing.
The key is regeisterd trademarks/copyrights. What you are advocating is the internet version of eminent domain...you want to take someone's registerd trademark or copyrighted property and let someone else have it. That's wrong.
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