Recent News

Sportsheets Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Copycat Website

GENEVA — The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has ruled in favor of adult brand Sportsheets in a case against a copycat website using an infringing domain.

Intora Inc., which operates Sportsheets, filed a complaint in August with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center about the domain sportsheets.net.

According to the WIPO administrative panel’s ruling in the case, a U.S. registrant listed as Theresa W. Chavez used the “confusingly similar” domain name to trade on Sportsheets’ reputation. The impersonating site, which was registered in January, had a look and feel “similar to that of Complainant’s official website,” including the Sportsheets logo and statements similar to those used on the brand’s official website, Sportsheets.com. Visitors clicking on the site’s links were directed to an Amazon storefront and other retailer sites.

That website content was subsequently removed, after which the website was parked.

In its complaint, Intora contended that the copycat site was meant to pass off as the official site, and showed “intentional and willful copying and infringement” of Sportsheets’ trademarks and intellectual property rights.

The WIPO review found that the respondent registered the disputed domain name in bad faith “to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to its website, by creating a likelihood of confusion with Complainant’s SPORTSHEETS Mark.”

The registrant failed to respond to WIPO inquiries about the matter during the investigation. As a result, the panel ordered the disputed domain to be transferred to Intora.

Kink.com Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Copycat Website

GENEVA — The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has ruled in favor of Kink.com in a case against a copycat website using an infringing domain.

Cybernet Entertainment, which operates Kink.com and Kinkstore.com, filed a complaint in August with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center about the domain thebdsmkink.com.

According to the WIPO administrative panel’s ruling in the case, a U.S. registrant listed as “karsony karsony” used the “confusingly similar” domain name to trade on Kink.com’s reputation. The impersonating site, which was registered in March, not only offered BDSM products comparable to those offered on Kink sites under its trademark, but also displayed the Kink graphic logo and even duplicated the “About Us” section from the legitimate Kink websites.

In its complaint, Cybernet Entertainment contended that the copycat site displayed “product imagery, product descriptions, product presentation, corporate-history information and audiovisual materials” copied from Kink’s official online presence.

The WIPO review found that the respondent registered the disputed domain name in bad faith “to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users by creating a likelihood of confusion with Complainant’s mark.”

The registrant failed to respond to WIPO inquiries about the matter during the investigation. As a result, the panel ordered the disputed domain to be transferred to Cybernet Entertainment.

 

Arcom Investigates Mym Over SREN Compliance

PARIS — French media regulator Arcom is investigating creator platform Mym to determine whether the site may have violated age assurance rules and/or other requirements of France’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law.

In an announcement on its website, the agency states that an initial analysis of Mym’s compliance with its SREN obligations has led Arcom to suspect that the platform may be in violation of user age verification rules, as well as “transparency” requirements relating to posting complete terms of use and disclosing information on its recommendation systems.

The announcement characterizes Mym as “a social network allowing users to access exclusive and personalized content, most often of an erotic or even sexual nature.”

On Wednesday, Arcom sent a request for information to Mym. The platform has 15 days to respond “under penalty of sanction.”

The investigation comes on the heels of a slew of other recent Arcom enforcementactions against adult sites, some based in France and others based elsewhere in the EU. Mym’s operator, Air Medias, is registered in France.

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