Take-Two Loses Domain Name Dispute Over GTA.TV

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc, the video game publisher behind the “Grand Theft Auto” games, has just lost a UDRP on the domain name GTA.TV.

 

According to whois records,the domain name was registered on March 19,2010 and the current registrant is iCity Corp.The complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center on August 14,2013.

If up until now Take-Two has had a lot of success using UDRP to get domains that include the “GTA” term,in this case Take-Two Interactive Software lost the case.That’s because in previous cases there were other words in the domain that made it clear the Grand Theft Auto game was being targeted.

Take-Two Interactive argued the following: 

“That, since 1998, the Complainant has been using the trademarks GRAND THEFT AUTO and GTA extensively around the world on television, Internet, magazines and various media.

That to date, over 125 million units of the games released in the GTA series have been sold and therefore the trademarks GRAND THEFT AUTO and GTA are strong trademarks worthy of the broadest scope of protection

That the referred trademarks are widely recognized throughout the US and the world, by millions of fans and consumers alike as being associated with the Complainant.

That the Complainant’s trademarks have been featured in media coverage relating to its video games for over a decade.

That the Complainant has filed intent to use applications with the USPTO for the trademark GTA TV.

That the Respondent is a domain name speculator, because in addition to owning the disputed domain name, the Respondent has registered other domains that likely infringe the rights of third parties, such as <facialbook.com>, <citilinktravels.com>, <canadaairtravel.ca> and <saveon.org>.”

That the Respondent has acted in bad faith because it has intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to its website by creating a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant’s trademark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation or endorsement of Respondent´s website.

That the Respondent is clearly attempting to confuse Internet users for its own commercial gain.

That the Respondent’s bad faith is also evidenced by its attempts to foreclose the Complainant from promoting its products on the Internet.

That the Respondent is curtailing the Complainant’s right to exploit the value of its trademark on the Internet and is blocking Complainant’s efforts to capitalize on its exclusive rights to actively promote its products under the GTA name.

That the Respondent appears to be a domain name speculator that has engaged in a pattern of registration of infringing domain names such as <facialbook.com>, <citilinktravels.com> and <saveon.org>, which consist on prima facie evidence of a pattern of bad faith registration.

The Respondent argues the following:

That the Respondent’s business is in the field of website development and design, and that it develops websites associated with its own domain names.

That GTA refers to the term “Greater Toronto Area”, which is a generic name.

That the Respondent has developed many websites containing generic names.

That the Respondent’s legitimate interest derives from its intention to develop a non-infringing website related to the Greater Toronto Area, or GTA.

That Mississauga Ontario, which is the place where the Respondent is located, is a part of the Greater Toronto Area.

That the Respondent’s intention is to develop a website associated with the disputed domain name <gta.tv> such as television and video pertaining to the Greater Toronto Area.

That registrants of domain names may have a legitimate interest in generic words or geographical indicators, provided that they are not used to trade on trademark owner’s goodwill.

That short two or three letter acronyms have been held to ground a legitimate interest provided they are not used to trade on trademark owner’s goodwill.

That the Complainant has failed to provide a reasonable basis to undermine the Respondent’s legitimate interest in the disputed domain name <gta.tv>.

That the Complainant did not present a single UDRP precedent where a domain name that corresponds to a descriptive term or dictionary word, and registered because of that, was ordered to be transferred.”

The Panel found that the complainant has failed to prove the three elements required.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EuroDNS Offers Special Promotions on .SX, .CO and .EU Domain Names

EuroDNS,one of the world’s largest registrars,is now offering special promotions on .SX, .CO and .EU domain names..SX is now on offer at an exlusive price of just € 20 and the offer is valid until 25 December 2013.

 

.SX is the country code domain for Sint Maarten. It is operated by the SX Registry and can be registered by anyone for a minimum one year period.

Check out EuroDNS here to register your .SX domain name .

.EU is now on offer at an exclusive price of just 2 Euro and the offer is valid until 31 January 2014..EU is the domain extension for Europe. It is operated by the registry EURid and can be registered by anyone with a European address for a minimum one year period.

Check out EuroDNS here to register your .EU domain name.

.CO is now on offer at an exclusive price of just 16 Euro and the offer is valid until 31 January,2014..CO is a global domain created in 2010 that is shorthand for company. It is operated by .CO and can be registered by anyone for a minimum one year period. 

Check out EuroDNS here to register your .CO domain name.

 

 

Domain Pulse 2014 Heads To Salzburg And Looks At Hot Online Topics Including Governance And New gTLDs

Domain Pulse 2014 is coming in February and this year’s hosts, nic.at has announced a programme that looks at internet governance, new gTLDs, how internet policy influences innovation, internet exchanges, privacy, why innovations generally come from Asia and the US but not Europe and the hot online topic of the moment – surveillance by the NSA and GCHQ of everything we do online.

There are also two keynote addresses – one from Key Note Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, Professor for Internet Governance and Regulation at the Oxford Internet Institute who will look at “Big Data: a revolution that will transform how we live, work and think” and another from Tarek Kamal, Senior Advisor to the President for Government Engagement at ICANN who will speak about the internationalisation of ICANN, internet governance and the challenges for the multi stakeholder model and ICANN’s regional strategies.

The Domain Pulse conference is the largest domain name conference each year in the German-speaking countries of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, rotating between the three countries annually and hosted by nic.at DENIC and SWITCH. It is regularly attended by 300 to 400 people mostly from the three host countries, but there are plenty from across Europe and some from even further afield.

All presentations are translated into English, if in German, or into German if the presentations are in English. So don’t non-German speakers should not be put off!

The conference will be held on 20 and 21 (Thursday and Friday) February in Salzburg and is a great opportunity to explore the amazing city over the weekend following, or to go skiing in one of the numerous ski fields nearby.

And best of all, just like ICANN meetings, registration and participation is FREE! The venue is the Salzburg Congress, conveniently located in the centre of Salzburg, and within walking distance of the railway station and the historic city centre. There are also a number of hotel rooms reserved nearby that are listed on the conference website.

And a couple of suggestions for attendees. The best (Italian-style) coffee, a great breakfast, fabulous cakes baked on premises and some pretty nice food can be had at 220 Grad at Chiemseegasse 5. Also check out St. Paul’s Stub’n Beer Garden at Herrengasse 16 for dinner or for great local food check out Weiserhof at Weiserhofstraße 4.

For more information on Domain Pulse 2014, including registration, go to www.domainpulse.at.

ICANN Customer Portal Functionality Expanded

In a continual effort to improve user experience, ICANN has deployed enhancements to the Customer Portal.

These system upgrades will enable applicants to access their TLD application information, monitor application status and engage with ICANN staff via one, central platform. Application data was first made available through the Customer Portal when Salesforce was introduced in April 2013.

ICANN Releases New Contracting Statistics

ICANN has released updated key Contracting statistics, as of 20 December 2013. The latest statistics show that: