Madrid Man

None of your domains include the word Olympic or Olympics, so it would be difficult to argue that you were trying to benefit in any way from the Olympic bid or the Olympics themselves (if they happen) when you registered any of those domains. If you had madridolympics2012.com, well that would clearly be different, but you could have registered madrid2012.com to discuss the possibility of an earthquake hitting the city that year, or the premonition you had that Madrid would host the Eurovision Song Contest that year, or anything.

I have read of cases where certain URL’s have been deemed by the courts to infringe intellectual property rights, but these were usually specific to a person or company/brand with a well known name or TM, and which had been so prior to the registration of the domain. I don’t think either of those criteria apply in this case. You might be interested to know that the musician Sting failed in his attempt to capture the URL www.sting.com from its owner because the court ruled that the word ‘sting’ was common currency and did not belong exclusively to Sting the musician (aka Mr Gordon Sumner) - and quite right too!

Also, have you contacted the International Olympic Committee about this matter? If Madrid 2012 are seeking to strip you of your legitimate ownership of those domains by means of threat, coersion, defamation or whatever - ie. not fighting fair - then one would hope that the IOC would take a pretty dim view of this and it would at the least reflect badly on the city’s Olympic bid.

On a more general point, I think the Olympic games themselves are a bloated dinosaur that should either be severely slimmed down or laid to rest completely. They have assumed far more importance (at least, to politicians) than they are worth, and the costs considerably outweigh the benefits. I live in London, which unfortunately is also bidding to host the 2012 games - and I sincerely hope that it fails. I don’t know any Londoner who actually wants them here, because we all know that we’ll have to foot the bill through higher local taxes - for years - and they will cause us increasing disruption. And what will your average citizen get out of it? Absolutely nothing. Yes, certain businesses (in certain areas) will profit, and there may be some benefits for their employees, but the vast majority of Londoners will merely be footing the bill for a grandiose PR exercise and ego-boost for a handful of politicians. There - I feel better now!

Best of luck keeping your domain names Madrid Man!

MM...my Man! Yeah, I agree that you shouldn't go broke over this but don't roll over and play dead either! I was hoping that this wouldn't sour your feelings towards Madrid or Spain because it could easily happen, especially when you've done so much to promote the city. I've learned so much about Madrid from your logs that I feel as I've been there and would have no difficulty in visiting the city. You should write letters to the major newpapers editors of Madrid, send copies to Spain's official website, contact the Spanish Ambassador's office to the US. Who knows, they may do something for you, and definately contact the IOC. Cristobo is totally correct in mentioning how much you've done to support Madrid and Spain.

These guys aren't playing fare and their tactics should be exposed! You've got my support, bro!

MadridMan,

I think your first priority should be to draft a response to the body that will be making the decision as to whom the name belongs. I certainly wouldn't be sending anything to anyone who is either part of, or indirectly involved in, the movement in Madrid. That could only be harmful to your case, in my opinion.

Consider this. They claim you are using those names to prosper. Of course you are. Why else would you bother to pick up addresses? But it's obvious that you must have bought other names prior to that one, and that in itself shows that you were doing business, as usual, long before they even considered their own involvement in a movement for the Olympics.

They there's the time frame within which they filed their objection. If they really had intended to use these names, why didn't they file objections back then, instead of now? No. They waited, and now when they are "certain they want the addys," they are trying to coerce them out of you by force.

Regardless of who is a member of the body that makes these decisions, they should hear both sides of the story. I believe it's in your best interests to put all your data together, and send them a complete listing of all the moves you made with addys, to show them that you were doing business, and they are part of your business. Also indicate that you have never been contacted by these people. That this is the first you heard of the situation.

Above all, don't let those bozos steam roll you. You have rights, and no matter what, they have to be protected. If you haven't gotten any help yet, you might also contact the American Civil Liberties Union, because they have been known to take on big guys who try to screw the little ones.

Just don't knuckle under. If that happens, someone will be coming for the madridman.com as well. Apparently they think they have rights far beyond those that applies to others. What a crock.

Wolf

If one is interested (or has 30-minutes to kill), one can read the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy HERE .

And also Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy ...:

a. Applicable Disputes. You are required to submit to a mandatory administrative proceeding in the event that a third party (a "complainant") asserts to the applicable Provider, in compliance with the Rules of Procedure, that
(i) your domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the complainant has rights; and
(ii) you have no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and
(iii) your domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith. In the administrative proceeding, the complainant must prove that each of these three elements are present.

b. Evidence of Registration and Use in Bad Faith. For the purposes of Paragraph 4(a)(iii), the following circumstances, in particular but without limitation, if found by the Panel to be present, shall be evidence of the registration and use of a domain name in bad faith:
(i) circumstances indicating that you have registered or you have acquired the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of your documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name; or
(ii) you have registered the domain name in order to prevent the owner of the trademark or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided that you have engaged in a pattern of such conduct; or
(iii) you have registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; or
(iv) by using the domain name, you have intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to your web site or other online location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant's mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of your web site or location or of a product or service on your web site or location.

c. How to Demonstrate Your Rights to and Legitimate Interests in the Domain Name in Responding to a Complaint. When you receive a complaint, you should refer to Paragraph 5 of the Rules of Procedure in determining how your response should be prepared. Any of the following circumstances, in particular but without limitation, if found by the Panel to be proved based on its evaluation of all evidence presented, shall demonstrate your rights or legitimate interests to the domain name for purposes of Paragraph 4(a)(ii):
(i) before any notice to you of the dispute, your use of, or demonstrable preparations to use, the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services; or
(ii) you (as an individual, business, or other organization) have been commonly known by the domain name, even if you have acquired no trademark or service mark rights; or
(iii) you are making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name, without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert consumers or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue.
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Have a nice weekend, everyone! My mind will be swimming with this issue. Ugh. I will not "knuckle under"!

Saludos, MadridMan

Puppyfeat:

I don't agree with your basic premises:

- Madrid2002 IS a registered society name, and it WAS so, before MM's buying the domain. The fact that MM did not know that doesn't alter that fact.

- I am not pretty sure on how known is that society in Spain (it's range of activity). I am not specially fond on Olympics, but maybe it's well know in those areas of activity.

Then, again, I don't think it will be necessary to be well known neither in the country nor internationally. Else, only Coca-Cola, Toyota and some more makes would be protected. "Peter and Joe, taylors", e.g., should also be able (with the logic used in these cases) to register peterandjoetaylors.com and so on. This is NOT the same as "smilebehappy.com", this is a brand name or society name. What would you think if I registered billclinton.com or josemariaaznar.com?

And then, I am no lawyer but, as I said before, I have a friend who used to buy domains (is the owner of many still today). We have spoken quite a bit on the issue, and I have read a lot because of this, cause we had plans to colaborate that did not come out in the end. There is (or there was) two ways to claim a domain that's been registered by someone else: Courts and an international organization on Arbitrage? (is this the word?) that is kind of an administrative stance whose resolutions are as firm as a court. Back then, this was the usual way of claiming domains holded by someone else.

Considering you don't have a brand or a society name called madrid2012, and they do, and prior to your registration of the domain, that you didn't have there BEFORE the demand contents related with Madrid 2012, and so on, I believe that you have really scarce possibilities, if we look at the past cases. But I may be wrong.

Hummm. Sorry! it seems I read your registration data wrong.

Well, then you were earlier by two days. That may be suspectable but the fact is that you were registering a name that was nobody's else before. This changes all (by now). I suspect they might have hidden aces. So, if the trade mark was asked for, who did it? Because Madrid2002 didn't exist. And then, who is that somebody (¿Fundación Madrid Nuevo Siglo?) and what ELSE rights it may have through intellectual property of any other kind?

Now we are really beginning to walk in investigation/lawyers land.

In Spain, usually it takes a month or even several to get a brand or trade mark approved.

MadridMan,

I agree with your interpretation. Had they really been interested in madrid2012, they would have done something with it much earlier. I doubt they ever considered themselves seriously involved in any act to get the Olympics there, on that date.

Essentially they are claiming the right to "own" anything that starts with madridXXXX.com, if they so choose. To me, they are acting in bad faith. They did nothing to warrant this exclusive right.

But the key to whether or not they can usurp the name from you will come based on your response to the governing group. Your response must be well thought out, offer specific details of your right to the domain names, and indicate your prior decisions to use them to create and improve your business. I believe you can do that, through the course of what you did prior to that time, to create the business you have.

Always remember this one issue. It is up to them to "prove" you operated in bad faith, and if the thread of business is properly laid out, they won't have a leg to stand on.

There's also the fact that they have never bothered to contact you about usage of the name. Then, when they decided they wanted it, after the fact, came after you.

Apparently some people believe that they have the right to these names. I totally disagree from a legal and moral standpoint. You entered the names in good faith, and have used them in good faith. Now you show the board the facts, and hope that they make the right decision, based on the facts, not on political and monetary clout. If there's one thing that will ruin the internet it will be people with deep pockets having their way with others, just because they have deep pockets.

Wolf

I think Wolf is absolutely correct, your response is very important, it really will be the only chance to give thorough account/explanation of the purpose of the domain names.

This site has provided people with so much info of all aspects of Spain, and will be of tremendous help to thousands if and when planning to trips to Spain , with or without Olympics.
2012 special section on this site, with its proven track record, should be automatic when thinking of all the different aspects of interest that possible Olympics will bring to people's mind .
Whether accomodation, travel, sights, history or local info, questions DO GET answers here, most often with local knowlegde and expertise.
Fight hard!!

This sounds like a typical "bully manouver", often the tone changes after a stern letter from a lawyer, but the "governing body" needs a clear, precise and thorough explanation first.

MadridMan,

Step #1 in your process should be requesting a complete copy of the complaint be sent to you, properly interpreted into English, since it's your primary language. I believe the arbitrator can arrange that.

This will make it easier for you to address each issue. I would suggest you do that as soon as possible, so there isn't a problem getting it to you on time.

Above all, do not allow this proceeding to go forward using Spanish, because as good as you are in the language, you're that much at loss in the nuances of the language itself.

You have a right to this I believe.

Wolf

True, that's exactly what would happen. WIPO is like a court in Internet domains. Just like a court can make you leave your home if you don't pay the mortgage in time. They are the ones to decide. Unless...

... unless you go to court. AND then, there is the jurisdictional matter: If I recall well, the process should be made in the country where the domain was registered (and so, aplying their laws).

Opposite to what`s been said before, Spanish laws in this matter, are more protective to stablished company's interests regarding registration requirements, but not regarding who has the right to the name. About this, there seem to be a world consensus that benefits big companies against Internet enterpreneurs.

However, I believe that, being Justice in USA more like ¿"consuetudinary"? (based on previous sentencies, and with a big kudge autonomy) law, following the anglo-saxon model, it is more unpredictible the result than with the Spanish continental style where most aspects are regulated by law. In the USA the difference between an expert lawyer and one who isn't has more influence in the final result.

Maybe it's interesting for you to ask for the ordinary jurisdiction and reject the WIPO authority in this case if possible (I have got a vague idea that you can do this).

If something is becoming more and more clear to me after this debate is that, because o the said, it is ot urgent that you look for a lawyer that is expert in Internet law, but it is very urgent. If what I mentioned before was posible, e.g., time would be counting and there could be deadlines for changing jurisdiction.