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Woo-hoo. U.N. agency gives 20th Century Fox the Web address to The Simpsons Movie
© AP
2007-07-25 15:48:33 -
GENEVA (AP) - Woo-hoo! «The Simpsons Movie» has won its name back.
A U.N. agency has ruled that ownership of the domain name thesimpsonsmovie.com must be handed to Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, which owns the rights to the film and the popular TV series of the same name.
Twentieth Century Fox filed a complaint to the World Intellectual Property Organization over the use of the film's name in the Internet address of a site registered by Keith Malley of Brooklyn, New York.
Malley was using the address to divert Internet users to a Web site that included sexually explicit depictions of several characters from The Simpsons and, later, to his «Keith and the Girl» Web site. He was demanding a US$50,000 (¤36,000) fee from Twentieth Century Fox for the domain name's return, according to the July 22 ruling of the WIPO arbitration panel.
It found that Malley «has no rights or legitimate interests with respect to the domain name» and ordered its immediate return.
The arbitration system, which was set up in 1999, allows those who think they have the right to a domain to gain control of it without having to fight a costly legal battle or pay large sums of money. Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Madonna are among the Hollywood stars who have previously won rulings against so-called «cybersquatters.
«The animated television series 'The Simpsons' debuted in 1989, and has become one of the longest running network series in television history,» the ruling said, noting that Friday's long-awaited release of the film has generated huge public interest on the Internet.
WIPO said Malley's «aim in registering the disputed domain name was to profit from and exploit» Twentieth Century Fox's trademark to promote and sell his own products and merchandise.
Malley did not submit a defense in the case
_____
© AP
2007-07-25 15:48:33 -
GENEVA (AP) - Woo-hoo! «The Simpsons Movie» has won its name back.
A U.N. agency has ruled that ownership of the domain name thesimpsonsmovie.com must be handed to Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, which owns the rights to the film and the popular TV series of the same name.
Twentieth Century Fox filed a complaint to the World Intellectual Property Organization over the use of the film's name in the Internet address of a site registered by Keith Malley of Brooklyn, New York.
Malley was using the address to divert Internet users to a Web site that included sexually explicit depictions of several characters from The Simpsons and, later, to his «Keith and the Girl» Web site. He was demanding a US$50,000 (¤36,000) fee from Twentieth Century Fox for the domain name's return, according to the July 22 ruling of the WIPO arbitration panel.
It found that Malley «has no rights or legitimate interests with respect to the domain name» and ordered its immediate return.
The arbitration system, which was set up in 1999, allows those who think they have the right to a domain to gain control of it without having to fight a costly legal battle or pay large sums of money. Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Madonna are among the Hollywood stars who have previously won rulings against so-called «cybersquatters.
«The animated television series 'The Simpsons' debuted in 1989, and has become one of the longest running network series in television history,» the ruling said, noting that Friday's long-awaited release of the film has generated huge public interest on the Internet.
WIPO said Malley's «aim in registering the disputed domain name was to profit from and exploit» Twentieth Century Fox's trademark to promote and sell his own products and merchandise.
Malley did not submit a defense in the case
_____
