| USA Triathlon wins domain name lawsuit December 15, 2003
The National Arbitration Forum granted ownership of the Internet domain name ‘usatriathlon.com' to USA Triathlon following a lawsuit against Hong Kong-based Proto Web Co. In the Nov. 17 decision a panel of three arbitrators ruled that the Proto Web Co. must cease operating a Web site located at www.usatriathlon.com and ordered the domain name be transferred from Proto Web to USA Triathlon.
The suit, filed August 28, 2003, alleged that Proto Web's registration of the domain name was done in bad faith and unlawfully infringed upon the USA Triathlon name and trademark. The ruling determined that Proto Web's Web site -- which offered URL links to other triathlon apparel and equipment websites such as Endless Pools, World Wide Aquatics, Baker's Breakfast Cookie and RoadRunnerSports as well as Nascar merchandise and video racing games -- "confused" consumers looking for the USA Triathlon's Web site at usatriathlon.org.
Proto Web Co. attorney Ari Goldberger, a veteran domain name litigator of ‘ESQwire.com,' asserted that his client "registered the domain name without knowledge of any existing trademark, and did so in good faith solely on the belief that this domain name was a descriptive, generic term."
Details at: http://www.insidetri.com/news/fea/1959.0.html
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