<!-- Vignette StoryServer 4 Wed Mar 24 13:13:30 1999 -->
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<META NAME="sections" CONTENT=" Business News">
<META NAME="keywords" CONTENT=" Domain names Network Solutions">
<META NAME="authors" CONTENT=" Brian McWilliams">
<META NAME="date" CONTENT="19990324">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<!--plsfield:title-->
<TITLE>Court Rules Domain Names Are Property--March 24, 1999</TITLE>
<!--plsfield:skip-->
</HEAD>
<BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#333333" ALINK="#FFFFFF" >
<!-- BEGIN OVERALL TABLE -->
<!-- AUTONOMY SPIDER DATE DECLARATION March 24 1999 -->
<TABLE BORDER="0" WIDTH="100%" CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="10">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="10%" VALIGN="TOP">
<!-- NAVIGATION TABLE OPEN TAG IS IN THE NAV BAR TEMPLATE -->
<P ALIGN ="CENTER">
<A HREF="http://www.internet.com/"><IMG SRC="/img/icom-logo-micro.gif" BORDER="0" WIDTH="130" HEIGHT="28" ALT="internet.com"></A>
</P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER">
<A HREF="http://www.internetnews.com"><IMG SRC="/img/inews-mini.gif" ALT="InternetNews.com" border="0" HEIGHT="55" WIDTH="125"></A>
</P>
<!-- END OF LOGOS -->
<P ALIGN="CENTER">
<!-- Vignette StoryServer 4 Mon Feb 22 15:16:05 1999 -->
Subscribe to FREE
<A HREF="http://e-newsletters.internet.com/">e-mail Newsletters</A>
</P>
<BR>
<!-- AD POSITION J -->
<P ALIGN="CENTER">
</P>
<!-- END AD POSITION J -->
<!-- SEARCH FORM -->
<P ALIGN="CENTER">
<FORM METHOD="POST" ACTION="http://search.internet.com/plweb-cgi/fastweb?search">
<TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="155">
<TR BGCOLOR="#990000">
<TD ALIGN="CENTER">
<FONT FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA" COLOR="#FFFFFF"><B>
Search News
</B></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD BGCOLOR="#CCCCCC" ALIGN="CENTER">
<INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="operation" VALUE="simplesearch">
<INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="view" VALUE="search">
<INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="db0" VALUE="InternetNews">
<INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="numresults" VALUE=25>
<INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="TemplateName" VALUE="hitlist.tmpl">
<!--INPUT TYPE="hidden" NAME="query_rule" VALUE="($query)" -->
<INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="query" VALUE="" SIZE="10">
<INPUT TYPE="Image" NAME="Submit" VALUE=" Find " BORDER=0 SRC="/img/findbutton-red.gif" ALIGN="ABSMIDDLE"> <!-- ALIGN="ABSMIDDLE" -->
<BR>
<FONT SIZE="-1">
<A HREF="http://search.internet.com/">Search all of internet.com</A>
</FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</FORM>
</P>
<!-- END OF SEARCH FORM -->
<!-- AD Position K -->
<P ALIGN="CENTER">
<!-- End of AD -->
</P>
<BR>
<!-- INTERNETNEWS TOOLBAR -->
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLSPACING="0" BGCOLOR="#990000">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="100%" VALIGN="TOP">
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="6" BORDER="0">
<TR>
<TD BGCOLOR="#990000" WIDTH="100%" ALIGN="CENTER">
<FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA"><B>News Sections:</B></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF">
<FONT SIZE="-1">
<a href="http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/0,1054,3,00.html">Business News</a><BR>
<a href="http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/0,1054,4,00.html">E-Commerce News</a><BR>
<a href="http://www.internetnews.com/fina-news/0,1054,5,00.html">Finance News</a><BR>
<a href="http://www.internetnews.com/intl-news/0,1054,6,00.html">International News</a><BR>
<a href="http://www.internetnews.com/intra-news/0,1054,7,00.html">Intranet News</a><BR>
<a href="http://www.internetnews.com/isp-news/0,1054,8,00.html">ISP News</a><BR>
<a href="http://www.internetnews.com/prod-news/0,1054,9,00.html">Product News</a><BR>
<a href="http://www.internetnews.com/wd-news/0,1054,10,00.html">Web Developer News</a><BR>
<a href="http://www.internetnews.com/stocks/0,1054,11,00.html">Stock Report</a><BR>
<a href="http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/0,1054,12,00.html">Advertising Report</a><BR>
<A HREF="http://stream.internet.com">NewsRadio Archives</A><BR>
<BR>
<a href="http://www.internetnews.com/staff/0,1188,1721,00.html">InternetNews Staff</a>
</FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<!-- END OF INTERNETNEWS.COM TOOLBAR -->
<!-- GET QUOTE -->
<P ALIGN="CENTER">
<FORM METHOD="POST" ACTION="http://sites.stockpoint.com/internet/quote.asp" id="form2" name="form2">
<TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="155">
<TR BGCOLOR="#990000">
<TD ALIGN=CENTER>
<FONT FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA" COLOR="#FFFFFF"><B>Get Stock Quote</B></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD BGCOLOR="#CCCCCC">
<CENTER>
<INPUT TYPE="text" name=Symbol size="10" value="" maxlength="15">
<INPUT TYPE="image" VALUE=" Find " SRC="/img/get-button.gif" ALIGN=ABSMIDDLE
WIDTH="25" HEIGHT="20" ALT="Find" BORDER="0" id="image1" name="image1"> </CENTER>
<FONT SIZE="-2">
• <A HREF="http://sites.stockpoint.com/internet/isdex.asp">Current ISDEX</A><BR>
• <A HREF="http://sites.stockpoint.com/internet/portfolio.asp">My Portfolio</A>
</FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</FORM>
</P>
<!-- GET QUOTE -->
<!-- INTERNET NEWSRADIO -->
<P ALIGN="CENTER">
</P>
<!-- INTERNET.COM TOOLBAR -->
<P>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLSPACING="0" BGCOLOR="#000000">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="100%" VALIGN="TOP">
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="6" BORDER="0">
<TR>
<TD BGCOLOR="#000000" WIDTH="100%" ALIGN="CENTER">
<FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA"><B>internet.com</B></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF">
<FONT SIZE="-1">
<A HREF="http://www.internetnews.com/">Internet News</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.internet.com/sections/stocks.html">Internet Stocks</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.internet.com/sections/it.html">Internet Technology</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.internet.com/sections/webdev.html">Web Developer</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.internet.com/sections/marketing.html">Internet Marketing</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.internet.com/sections/isp.html">ISP</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.internet.com/sections/downloads.html">Downloads</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.internet.com/sections/resources.html">Internet Resources</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.internet.com/sections/international.html">International</A><BR>
<BR>
<A HREF="http://search.internet.com">Search internet.com</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.internet.com/mediakit/">Advertising Info</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.internet.com/corporate/">Corporate Info</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://events.internet.com">Internet Trade Shows</A><BR>
</FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</P>
<!-- END OF INTERNET.COM TOOLBAR -->
<!-- INTERNET.COMMERCE -->
<P>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLSPACING="0" BGCOLOR="#003300">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="100%" VALIGN="TOP">
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="6" BORDER="0">
<TR>
<TD BGCOLOR="#003300" WIDTH="100%" ALIGN="CENTER">
<FONT COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA"><B>internet.commerce</B></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF">
<FONT SIZE="-1">
<A HREF="http://www.internet.com/affiliates/index.html">Be an Affiliate</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://software.internet.com/">Software</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://events.internet.com/travel.html">Travel</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://affiliate.compubank.com/">Banking</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.hpcovision.com/">e-solutions</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://jobs.internet.com/">Internet Jobs</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.on24.com/">A/V Network</A><BR>
<A HREF="https://www2.scheduleonline.com/login.html">Scheduling</A><BR>
<A HREF="http://e-newsletters.internet.com/mailinglists.html">e-Mailing Lists</a><BR>
<A HREF="http://www.computerliteracy.com/">Books</a><BR>
<A HREF="http://thelist.internet.com/">Find an ISP</A><BR>
</FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</P>
<!-- END OF INTERNET.COMMERCE --> <!-- END NAV TABLE -->
<!-- OVERALL TABLE -->
</TD>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="90%">
<!-- OVERALL TABLE -->
<!-- AD POSITION A-->
<P ALIGN= "CENTER">
<a href="http://vgn1.iworld.com/fcgi-bin/ipeclick.cgi/site_id=1/exp_id=390825520/iidest=idm.internet.com"><img src="/ads/1998/10/ic-idguru-1.gif" width=468 height=60 alt="" border=0></a>
</P>
<!-- external source logo -->
<!-- STORY POSITION -->
<!--plsfield:text-->
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0">
<TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" ALIGN="RIGHT" COLSPAN="2">
<FONT SIZE="+2" COLOR="#990000">
<B><TT>Business News</TT></B>
</FONT>
<BR> <HR NOSHADE SIZE="1">
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" ALIGN="LEFT">
<FONT FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA" SIZE="+1"><B>Court Rules Domain Names Are Property</B></FONT>
</TD>
<TD VALIGN="BOTTOM" ALIGN="RIGHT">
<FONT FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA" SIZE="-1">
March 24, 1999<BR>
</FONT>
<TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD>
<FONT FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA" SIZE="-1">By <A HREF="mailto:newsradio@internet.com">Brian McWilliams</A><BR> InternetNews.com Correspondent</FONT>
</TD>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" ALIGN="RIGHT">
<FONT FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA" SIZE="-1">
<a href="http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/archives/0,1068,3,00.html">Business News Archives</a> </FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<P>
In a ruling with major implications for domain registrants, a federal court
in Virginia has ruled that domain names are property and are subject
to different legal protection than previously thought.
<p>
The ruling stems from a trademark infringement suit filed against a
Canadian corporation, 3263851 Canada, Inc., by <a href="http://www.umbro.com">Umbro International</a>, a manufacturer of soccer equipment. In the suit,
Umbro claimed the defendant infringed upon its trademark when it registered
umbro.com in 1997. When the defendant failed to show up in court, the judge
issued a default judgment, turning over umbro.com to the company and
awarding it $25,000 in attorney's fees.
<p>
In subsequent litigation, <a href="http://www.alston.com">Alston & Bird</a>, the firm
representing Umbro International, instituted a garnishment proceeding
against <a href="http://www.networksolutions.com">Network Solutions Inc.</a> to force the judicial sale of the domain names.
<p>
"The registrant had no
tangible US assets that we could levy on, but they did have a number of
other domains that they had registered through NSI, so we asked the court
to garnish those so we could seize them and sell them to the highest bidder," said Alston & Bird attorney Chris Roblyer.
<p>
Roblyer said the Virginia court agreed and on Feb. 3rd granted Alston
& Bird rights to 27 domains owned by the defendant.
<p>
The law firm <a href="http://www.alston.com/news/NewsArticle.cfm?ID=334">said</a>
the ruling gives trademark lawyers a new sword to combat domain name piracy. But Bret Fausett, a trademark attorney with <a href="http://www.fausett.com">Fausett, Gaeta & Lund</a>,
said it's actually good news for domain name owners.
<p>
"Typically we thought registrants had a two-year license to a domain name,
but the court is suggesting they have a property interest. As a result, if
the registry takes a name away from you without a legal basis, than you can
sue them for civil damages. And that's a powerful thing," Fausett said.
<p>
Network Solutions officials were not available for comment, but the company
has filed an appeal of the court's decision. According to Fausett, NSI has
good reason to be concerned about the ruling, especially because of its
impact on NSI's domain dispute resolution policy.
<p>
"When NSI licenses something, they have all sorts of rights. But if there
are property interests here, that little click-wrap agreement may not be as
effective."<!--plsfiend:end-->
<P>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="50%">
<B><FONT FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA">Related stories:</FONT></B><BR>• <a href="http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article/0,1087,3_62931,00.html">Statistics Show Domain Wars May Be Slowing</a><BR>• <a href="http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article/0,1087,3_69971,00.html">Govt. Considers Commercial Use of .US Domain</a> </TD>
<TD WIDTH="50%">
<TD WIDTH="50%">
<FONT FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA">
<a href="/bus-news/print/0,1089,3_85661,00.html">Go to a printable version of this story</a> </FONT>
</TD> </TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</P>
<!-- END OF TOP STORIES -->
<!-- TODAY'S HEADLINES -->
<!-- Vignette StoryServer 4 Wed Mar 24 13:53:12 1999 -->
<!-- MORE HEADLINES -->
<P ALIGN="CENTER">
<TABLE BORDER="0" WIDTH="100%" CELLPADDING="3">
<TR>
<TD COLSPAN="2" BGCOLOR="#000000"><CENTER><B><FONT SIZE="+1" FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA" COLOR="#FFFFFF">Today's Headlines</FONT></B></CENTER>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<TABLE BORDER="0" WIDTH="100%" CELLPADDING="5">
<TR>
<TD WIDTH="50%" BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" VALIGN="TOP">
<CENTER>
<FONT FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA" COLOR="#990000"><B> Top Business News Stories</B></FONT><BR>
</CENTER>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0">
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="1%">•
</TD>
<TD WIDTH="99%"><FONT SIZE="-1"><a href="http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article/0,1087,3_85511,00.html">Congressional Committee To Discuss Domain Fees</a></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="1%">•
</TD>
<TD WIDTH="99%"><FONT SIZE="-1"><a href="http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article/0,1087,3_85531,00.html">Gateway CEO Joins MP3.com's Board of Directors</a></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="1%">•
</TD>
<TD WIDTH="99%"><FONT SIZE="-1"><a href="http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article/0,1087,3_85421,00.html">eBay Faces Patent Infringement Lawsuit</a></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="1%">•
</TD>
<TD WIDTH="99%"><FONT SIZE="-1"><a href="http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article/0,1087,3_83921,00.html">Network Solutions Unveils Controversial Site</a></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="1%">•
</TD>
<TD WIDTH="99%"><FONT SIZE="-1"><a href="http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article/0,1087,3_84031,00.html">Snap Previews High-Speed Portal</a></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TH VALIGN="TOP" COLSPAN="2">
<FONT FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA" SIZE="-1"><a href="http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/0,1054,3,00.html">More Business News</a></FONT>
</TH>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH="50%" BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" VALIGN="TOP">
<CENTER>
<FONT FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA" COLOR="#990000"><B>Top InternetNews Stories</B></FONT><BR>
</CENTER>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="1%">•
</TD>
<TD WIDTH="99%"><FONT SIZE="-1"><a href="http://www.internetnews.com/wd-news/article/0,1087,10_85521,00.html">Tetranet Unveils Metabot Pro 1.0</a></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="1%">•
</TD>
<TD WIDTH="99%"><FONT SIZE="-1"><a href="http://www.internetnews.com/prod-news/article/0,1087,9_85611,00.html">ActiveNames Debuts E-Mail Tracker</a></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="1%">•
</TD>
<TD WIDTH="99%"><FONT SIZE="-1"><a href="http://www.internetnews.com/intl-news/article/0,1087,6_85641,00.html">Cisco Will Inject US$40 M Into Asian Business</a></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="1%">•
</TD>
<TD WIDTH="99%"><FONT SIZE="-1"><a href="http://www.internetnews.com/intl-news/article/0,1087,6_85621,00.html">Server Ideal For SMEs In Hong Kong, Says Microsoft</a></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TD VALIGN="TOP" WIDTH="1%">•
</TD>
<TD WIDTH="99%"><FONT SIZE="-1"><a href="http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,1087,4_85431,00.html">Concentric Network, CyberCash Team Up</a></FONT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
<TH VALIGN="TOP" COLSPAN="2"><FONT FACE="ARIAL, HELVETICA" SIZE="-1"><a href="http://www.internetnews.com/0,1063,,00.html">More InternetNews</a></FONT>
</TH>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</P>
<!-- END HEADLINES -->
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<BR><BR>
<!-- AD POSITION H -->
<P ALIGN="CENTER">
<a href="http://vgn1.iworld.com/fcgi-bin/ipeclick.cgi/site_id=1/exp_id=390825585/iidest=www.sagenetworks.com"><img src="/ads/1999/03/sage-pulldown3-3.gif" width=468 height=60 alt="" border=0></a>
<!-- AD POSITION H -->
</P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER">
Copyright 1999 internet.com LLC <BR>
All Rights Reserved. <a href="http://www.internet.com/corporate/legal.html">Legal Notices</a>
</P>
<P ALIGN="CENTER">
<A HREF="http://www.internet.com"><IMG SRC="/img/URL.gif" BORDER="0" WIDTH="161" HEIGHT="18" ALT="http://www.internet.com/"></A>
</P>
</BODY>
</HTML>