Artists reclaims name, stops cybersquatter - .com News

SPECIAL REPORT--When artist Thomas Blackshear went to register a domain name containing his name, www.ThomasBlackshear.com, he base out that it was not available. It was taken by the agency of a gallery which carried his artwork. The gallery not at any time asked for his permission, and despite repeated askings from himself and his consultation they refused to turn it above to him, said Blackshear. for a like reason Blackshear sued the gallery, the Christ-Centered Mall, which had registered the domain name.

The suit was brought before the World Intellectual quality Organization's (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center Domain names are regulated by the agency of an organization known as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which has delegated to several organizations the right to mediate disputes among claimants for domain names.

Blackshear argued in his complaint that flat though he had not registered his trademark, he had obtained a belonging to all law trademark in his name. His claim was based upon the facts that he is a well-known artist and that consumer had learned to identify his name with his artworks, thereby creating a secondary meaning in his name. He showed this by the agency of demonstrating he achieved notoriety in the art world; that his artworks appear in a wide variety of media including galleries and magazines and that they have been widely exhibited.

Blackshear, after proving to WIPO that he had acquired a trademark in his name, showed that the domain name used the trademark in his name. He also luckily alleged that the gallery using his trademark in the disputed domain name had no legitimate rights to use his name and were doing thus in bad faith. The WIPO panel lay asideed the gallery's contention that because it sold Thomas Blackshear's artwork it was entitled to use his name (trademark) in a domain name, which directed traffic to its Web site. The domain name has been ordered to be transferred to Blackshear.

Blackshear was showed by Joshua Kaufman, Esq. of Venable, Baetjer and Howard LLP based in Washington, DC who is also a legal columnist for Art Business News

Kaufman stated, "This is an important victory, not alone for Thomas, but for all of those in the arts, who wish to shield their names and trademarks from cyber squatters. No longer will entities be allowed to divert the traffic and business rightfully to be paid artists and their publishers to their unauthorized Web sites, thereby depriving artists the right to direction their name, artwork and market."

To contact Kaufman, visit www.jjkaufman.com.

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