[Podcast] Outsmarting Cyber Scammers: A Look Into Anti-Cybersquatting Litigation
Hot Trends in Federal Enforcement on the Web in 2013 from Ifrah Law Partners
If you’re an artist, creative person, or content creator (and who isn’t these days?), or you work on the creative side of brand marketing, you probably have some pre-existing assumptions about whether and when you can use...more
On Friday, June 23, 2023, Judge Jed Rakoff issued a highly anticipated decision, permanently enjoining artist Mason Rothschild from selling “MetaBirkin” NFTs, which depict furry, digital versions of the Hermès signature...more
In a major Web3 trademark infringement case, NFT creators prevail over those with a bad-faith intent to profit. On April 21, 2023, Yuga Labs, the original creators of the Board Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token...more
Consider this scenario: you worked hard for many years and spent thousands of dollars building your brand. You even took the proper precautions and registered your trademark with the U.S. Trademark Office. Thanks to all that...more
Cybersquatters often exploit brand owners by demanding a large payment for a domain name that is similar to the brand owner’s trademark. Cybersquatters may also seek to profit from rerouting internet traffic intended for the...more
Last month, the Fourth Circuit issued a landmark intellectual property ruling in The Prudential Insurance Company of America v. Shenzhen Stone Network Information Ltd., No. 21-1823 (4th Cir. Jan. 24, 2023)....more
In early 2023, a federal jury found an opportunistic meta-artist infringed on a luxury fashion house’s iconic handbag trademark. Digital artist Mason Rothschild created 100 unique “MetaBirkin” non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”)...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of the plaintiff’s suit against a domain name registrar, holding that the plaintiff did not adequately allege that the registrar used the...more
Luxury fashion brand Hermès sued Mason Rothschild in January 2022 alleging that the digital images underlying the non-fungible tokens (“NFTs”) produced and sold by Rothschild depicting faux fur-covered Birkin handbags – the...more
On February 8, 2023, a federal jury awarded Hermès International and Hermès of Paris, Inc. (“Hermès”) $133,000 in its trademark lawsuit against designer Mason Rothschild. Hermès sued Rothschild for selling non-fungible tokens...more
In a case with clear implications for non-fungible token art-based projects, a federal jury in the case of Hermès International, et al. v. Mason Rothschild, 1:22-cv-00384 (SDNY), found in favor of fashion brand Hermès in its...more
How far does a trademark extend into the digital art world? French luxury fashion brand Hermès sought to answer this question in its precedent-setting case against artist Mason Rothschild, which concluded with a win for...more
A New York City jury just returned a verdict in favor of Hermès in a historic dispute between the luxury fashion house and digital artist Mason Rothschild over Hermès’ alleged trademark rights relating to Hermès’ famous...more
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit joined the Third and Eleventh Circuits in ruling that the re-registration of an infringing domain name with a bad faith intent to profit violates the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer...more
In this podcast, Wiley partners Attison L. Barnes, III and David E. Weslow pull from their combined decades of experience for an in-depth discussion of cybersquatting and related Internet and digital media scams. Since the...more
Cybersquatting or domain squatting is registering, trafficking in, or using an internet domain name in bad faith with the intent to profit from another person’s trademark or business. The domain name needs to be confusingly...more
Unauthorized use of a trademark on the Internet occurs often and in many forms, usually involving the profiting, whether intentionally or unintentionally, from the goodwill associated with a trademark belonging to someone...more
Using the internet proficiently is a requirement for success in today's business environment. However, there are a number of challenges to ensuring that your business's internet presence is protected. The following article...more
Examining whether a registered mark and a domain name were confusingly similar under the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of...more
Overview - It is a modern reality that with brand ownership comes the risk of trademark and domain name fraud. In this area, there has recently been a rise in email scams targeting brand owners by falsely claiming that...more
For years, domain names were restricted to twenty-two basic generic top-level domains (gTLDs), including the popular ".com," ".net," and ".org." In late 2013, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN),...more
Recent changes in consumer behaviour due to the COVID-19 pandemic mean that few businesses can afford to ignore the internet, and the opportunities for efficiencies and scale that it offers. Operating a business online...more
Strong brands are prime targets for trademark scams in times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic because of the trust and goodwill they have built with the consuming public. Brands in the medical products sphere should be on...more
A trademark is a word, name, or symbol used to identify and distinguish a seller’s product from those of others. A trademark is part of a company’s brand. It is the embodiment of the company’s reputation. Over time, a...more
Blockchain technology has garnered attention from various sectors over the past ten years, much of it due to the rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies have gained popularity and notoriety for their...more