Actress/singer/fashion designer/perfume hawker Jennifer Lopez sued the operator of two websites – JenniferLopez.net and JenniferLopez.org – and won.
Apparently, the site operator registered the domain names, purportedly fan sites, and then filled them with pay-per-click advertising and not J.Lo content. Although the sites indicated that they were not “supported or endorsed by Jennifer Lopez or her affiliated enterprises”, the phrase “Jennifer Lopez” is trademarked.
So, the use of the name in a commercial endeavor was a violation of federal trademark protection.
Rather than go to trial, the case was heard by an independent arbitrator. The arbitrator has now ordered that the domain names be transferred to the Jennifer Lopez Foundation, finding “that the registration had been for commercial use and was in bad faith.”
Lopez had her name trademarked in 1999, the year after she appeared in the movies Selena, Out of Sight and Anaconda. And one of the primary commercial purposes for which the trademark was registered? Operation of a website.
So, the pay-per-click ad sites flew directly in the face of a long-established registered trademark. No brainer.
