In a victory for free speech on the Internet, a New York man ordered to transfer the domain name
www.fallwell.comto the Rev. Jerry Falwell will be allowed to keep the Web site, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled.
Public Citizen attorney Paul Alan Levy represented the New York man, Christopher Lamparello. Lamparello runs a Web site that criticizes Falwellâs views on homosexuality. Falwell sought to transfer the domain name, and after a Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy panel ruled in Falwellâs favor, Lamparello sued in federal court in Virginia to keep his domain name. Noting that for a period of time, Lamparelloâs Web site had praised a book and linked to Amazon.com where the book could be bought, a trial judge decided that the site was sufficiently commercial to be subject to the trademark laws and ruled in Falwellâs favor. Lamparello appealed the decision, and the case was argued in front of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in May.
Public Citizen, which has been a strong defender of First Amendment rights on the Internet, argued that Lamparelloâs speech is indisputably protected and not applicable to trademark laws because the site features noncommercial speech. Levy also asserted that the District Courtâs opinion should have been reversed because viewers of the Web site were unlikely to be confused about whether Falwell sponsors the Lamparello Web site.
âLamparelloâs website looks nothing like Reverend Falwellâs,â the court ruled today. âLamparello clearly created his website intending only to provide a forum to criticize ideas, not to steal customers.â
