Friday, May 06, 2005
MadObserver Press Release
Rivalry between two alternative papers to result in legal action
MadObserver Press Release
Contact: Youssef Sawan, Editor in Chief, 608.215.7653
The Madison Observer, a progressive bi-weekly, is taking legal action against the conservative bi-weekly The Mendota Beacon, based on allegations that the Beacon is cybersquatting two Observer web domains.
The Mendota Beacon first appeared on the UW-Madison campus as of February 2005 and immediately incited a rivalry with the Observer.
The Beacon’s first issue featured a story that falsely accused the Observer of funneling money through UW-Madison student segregated fees. After being notified of the serious mistake, the Beacon removed the article from its Web site, but refused to print a correction.
In mid-March, the Observer, whose Web address is www.madisonobserver.org, learned the domains www.madisonobserver.net and www.madisonobserver.com had been bought anonymously on March 11 and were redirecting traffic to the Beacon’s Web site. The Observer notified the Beacon of the problem and of its legal implications, but the Beacon denied all responsibility. However, during an informal encounter on April 7, a staff member of the Beacon told two Observer staff members that the Beacon’s editor in chief was directly involved in obtaining and redirecting the domains.
According to the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, a case is identified as cybersquatting if “a domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights, the domain name owner has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name, and the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.” The Observer has found that all of these factors apply to its case against the owners of madisonobserver.com and .net. Kevin Palmersheim of Haley Palmersheim is representing the Observer. Observer members ultimately hope to gain control of these two domains and be reimbursed for any damages.
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MadObserver Press Release
Contact: Youssef Sawan, Editor in Chief, 608.215.7653
The Madison Observer, a progressive bi-weekly, is taking legal action against the conservative bi-weekly The Mendota Beacon, based on allegations that the Beacon is cybersquatting two Observer web domains.
The Mendota Beacon first appeared on the UW-Madison campus as of February 2005 and immediately incited a rivalry with the Observer.
The Beacon’s first issue featured a story that falsely accused the Observer of funneling money through UW-Madison student segregated fees. After being notified of the serious mistake, the Beacon removed the article from its Web site, but refused to print a correction.
In mid-March, the Observer, whose Web address is www.madisonobserver.org, learned the domains www.madisonobserver.net and www.madisonobserver.com had been bought anonymously on March 11 and were redirecting traffic to the Beacon’s Web site. The Observer notified the Beacon of the problem and of its legal implications, but the Beacon denied all responsibility. However, during an informal encounter on April 7, a staff member of the Beacon told two Observer staff members that the Beacon’s editor in chief was directly involved in obtaining and redirecting the domains.
According to the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, a case is identified as cybersquatting if “a domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights, the domain name owner has no rights or legitimate interests in the domain name, and the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.” The Observer has found that all of these factors apply to its case against the owners of madisonobserver.com and .net. Kevin Palmersheim of Haley Palmersheim is representing the Observer. Observer members ultimately hope to gain control of these two domains and be reimbursed for any damages.
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// posted by J.Sawan @ 1:28 PM 
