Google has filed a single UDRP case with National Arbitration Forum covering a whopping 763 domains.
The domains names include the word Google followed by common search terms, e.g.:
googleiphone4s.com
googlevolkswagengroup.com
googlescientology.com
googlesamsung.com
googledusseldorf.com
googlesalvador.com
googleducks.com
googlesaints.com
Many of these are “double trademarks” covering a Google trademark as well as another entity’s mark.
So, you’d probably figure that Chris Gillespie, the person who registered these domain names, would realize the gig is up and transfer the domains.
Nope. Instead he has filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to get Google’s trademarks canceled!
Seriously, this is how he explains it in his petition:
Petitioner is in the process of developing various affinity-based social networks that will allow users to interact with each other, and obtain content, products and services related to their affinity-community’s respective interests, including charity, lifestyle, shopping, dating/sex, travel, and health. Some of these affinity-based networks include The GLBT Network, The Jewish Network, The Christian Network and The Muslim Network. Each of these networks will have a number of websites relating to the affinity-community’s respective interests in various categories, including charity, lifestyle, shopping, dating/sex, travel and health. As part of these plans Petitioner has registered a number of domain names to be used in connection with bona fide offerings of goods and services.
Gillespie argues that Google has become a generic term and he has equal rights to use them in his domains.
I really don’t understand what he seeks to gain from this challenge. It’s not like Google is going to settle with him on the matter.
[via @lothar97]
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