« Trademark dilution and Breastfeeding | Main | Converse shoes and trademark infringement »
Website Trademark Dispute
I found this interesting article about singer Keith Urban filing a lawsuit against painter Keith Urban for use of the web address keithurban.com. (The singer himself owns the keithurban.net domain.) He claims that the artist's website constitutes dilution, is a violation of the anti-cybersquatting consumer protection act, and is misleading.
I think this situation, like many cases we have discussed in class, raises many questions about where the internet fits into trademark law and protection. Also, when looking at the artist's website, he does not state that the site is not related to the singer. He indicates that painting is one of his "hobbies," which to some users could be misinterpreted as a hobby of the singer. In addition, at the top of the website he has ads sponsored by Google that are almost all related to the singer not the painter. This may cause further confusion to any user/consumer on the site as they may think that the ads are related to the contents and owner of the site, although it does state that the ads are Google sponsored.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/06/people.keithurban.law.ap/index.html
Posted by at February 7, 2007 1:29 AM
in Current Events
