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Google Loses Froogles Battle
Posted by Steven Wu on Monday, July 26 @ 17:07:04 EDT
An arbitration panel (designated by ICANN to resolve domain-name disputes) has rejected Google's challenge to Froogles.com.
Google Inc.'s right to use the name "Froogle'' for its online shopping service came into question Friday when an arbitration panel rejected the company's challenge of a Web site named Froogles.com.

Two of the three judges on the panel of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, rejected Google's argument that Froogles.com was "confusingly similar'' to Google.

"The dissimilar letters in the domain name are sufficiently different to make it distinguishable from Google's mark,'' the panel found. The name Froogles.com "creates an entirely new word and conveys an entirely singular meaning from the mark.''

You must mean an entirely plural meaning.

In all seriousness, from the extremely limited facts in the article, the Froogles.com guy seems beyond reproach, having registered and started the site several years before Google's Froogle emerged.

UPDATED: Thanks to all the commenters for pointing out the errors in this story.

 
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[No Subject] (Score: 0)
by Anonymous on Thursday, August 12 @ 17:14:14 EDT
I like this!

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Re: Google Loses Froogles Battle (Score: 0)
by Anonymous on Monday, July 26 @ 20:43:06 EDT
"having registered and started the sight"

site


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Re: Google Loses Froogles Battle (Score: 0)
by Anonymous on Monday, July 26 @ 23:14:30 EDT
ICANN didn't reject the challenge, the National Arbitration Forum did. Decision is here [www.arb-forum.com].


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Re: Google Loses Froogles Battle (Score: 0)
by Anonymous on Wednesday, July 28 @ 20:51:34 EDT
Steven,

You are entirely correct, he is beyond reproach. As Richard Wolfe, the owner of Froogles.com, was quoted in the article as saying "I started my shopping service called Froogles almost two years before Google started a shopping service called Froogle. What more does anyone need to know?''

Google has no basis for claiming prior rights in Froogle, so it has taken the position that Froogles is confusingly similar to the mark GOOGLE. A determination was made in the US Trademark Office, before Google filed its UDRP Complaint, that Froogle is not confusingly similar to any registered mark, including the mark GOOGLE. The UDRP Panel also concluded that Froogle is not confusingly similar to the mark GOOGLE. According to the article attached to your message, Google has never before lost a challenge to a domain name.

In dismissing Google's UDRP Complaint, a majority of the Panel also found that Google had not established either of the two other elements required to make out a claim under the Policy, i.e., that Mr. Wolfe lacked a legitimate interest in the Froogles.com domain name and that he had registered and was using the domain name in bad faith.

I represent Mr. Wolfe in the UDRP proceeding and related trademark disputes. Thank you for your interest in these matters and for taking the time to write your comments.

Stephen L. Humphrey
Cameron & Hornbostel LLP
818 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006
shumphrey@cameron-hornbostel.com




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Re: Google Loses Froogles Battle (Score: 1)
by SHumphrey on Wednesday, July 28 @ 21:14:25 EDT
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Steven,

You are entirely correct, he is beyond reproach. As Richard Wolfe, the owner of Froogles.com, was quoted in the article as saying "I started my shopping service called Froogles almost two years before Google started a shopping service called Froogle. What more does anyone need to know?''

Google has no basis for claiming prior rights in Froogle, so it has taken the position that Froogles is confusingly similar to the mark GOOGLE. A determination was made in the US Trademark Office, before Google filed its UDRP Complaint, that Froogles is not confusingly similar to any registered mark, including the mark GOOGLE. The UDRP Panel concluded that Froogles.com is not confusingly similar to the mark GOOGLE. According to the article attached to your message, Google has never before lost a challenge to a domain name.

In dismissing Google's UDRP Complaint, a majority of the Panel also found that Google had not established either of the two other elements required to make out a claim under the Policy, i.e., that Mr. Wolfe lacked a legitimate interest in the Froogles.com domain name and that he had registered and was using the domain name in bad faith.

I represent Mr. Wolfe in the UDRP proceeding and related trademark matters. Thank you for your interest in these matters and for taking the time to write your comments.

Stephen L. Humphrey
Cameron & Hornbostel LLP
818 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006
shumphrey@cameron-hornbostel.com

Updated to correct typo.




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