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RE: [bc-gnso] FW: GoDaddy.com Loses Motion to Recuse 'The Academy's Judge'
- To: "Phil Corwin" <psc@xxxxxxxxxxx>, "bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx" <bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx>
- Subject: RE: [bc-gnso] FW: GoDaddy.com Loses Motion to Recuse 'The Academy's Judge'
- From: john@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 12:06:56 -0700
<div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';
color: black;" lang="EN">This email prompts a thought.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';
color: black;" lang="EN"><br /></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';
color: black;" lang="EN">As domain names continue to push their way closer to
mass market awareness, stories like this one in the National Journal which
bears an incredulous tone, are only going to become more prevalent, cynical and
one-sided. Particularly as the ripples of the new gTLD program reaches
media who know less and less and less about ICANN, UDRP practices or any of the
mechanics that make-up domain name registration policies.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';
color: black;" lang="EN"><br /></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';
color: black;" lang="EN">To the naked eye, it likely seems that the Academy
<em>should</em> prevail in the case against oscarlist.com or
academyawardsinc.com; so much so that if GoDaddy were to win the case, it
<em>might</em> seem like a miscarriage of justice. Now that would be a
problem beyond this one case.<br /></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';
color: black;" lang="EN"><br /></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';
color: black;" lang="EN">The problem is rooted in the fact that there is too
little grounding in domain names beyond the small group of people who have
participated in ICANN, yet public policy, law and public opinion is made by
more who don't. This may wind up being the real shortcoming in the
communications surrounding the new gTLD program.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';
color: black;" lang="EN"><br /></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';
color: black;" lang="EN">Cheers,</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';
color: black;" lang="EN"><br /></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';
color: black;" lang="EN">John Berard</span></div>
<div> </div>
<div>--------- Original Message ---------</div>
<blockquote class="threadBlockQuote" style="border-left: 2px solid #C2C2C2;
padding-left: 3px; margin-left: 4px;">
<div>Subject: [bc-gnso] FW: GoDaddy.com Loses Motion to Recuse 'The Academy's
Judge'<br />From: "Phil Corwin" <psc@xxxxxxxxxxx><br />Date: 2/11/14 9:35
am<br />To: "bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx" <bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx><br /><br /> <!--[if
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<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #1f497d;">FYI—very high profile
cybersquatting case against Go Daddy… <br /></span></p>
<div>
<div style="border: none; border-top: solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt; padding: 3.0pt 0in
0in 0in;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family:
'Tahoma','sans-serif';">Subject:</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;
font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif';"> GoDaddy.com Loses Motion to Recuse 'The
Academy's Judge'</span> </p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a
href="http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202641536588?kw=GoDaddy.com%20Loses%20Motion%20to%20Recuse%20%27The%20Academy%27s%20Judge%27&et=editorial&bu=National%20Law%20Journal&cn=20140211&src=EMC-Email&pt=Daily%20Headlines";>http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202641536588?kw=GoDaddy.com%20Loses%20Motion%20to%20Recuse%20%27The%20Academy%27s%20Judge%27&et=editorial&bu=National%20Law%20Journal&cn=20140211&src=EMC-Email&pt=Daily%20Headlines</a>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><strong><span style="font-size: 24.0pt; font-family:
'Times New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">GoDaddy.com Loses Motion to
Recuse 'The Academy's Judge' </span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;
font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">Amanda
Bronstad, The National Law Journal</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">February 04, 2014, 05:03 PM
| </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;
font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; color: black;"><img
id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:52fa6f118ee45" alt="1988 Academy Awards red
carpet" width="616" height="372" border="0" /></span><span style="font-size:
12.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">1988
Academy Awards red carpet Photo: Alan Light via Wikimedia Commons </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">Domain-name registrar GoDaddy.com
Inc. has lost an effort to force the recusal of a federal judge based on
alleged bias toward the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, whose own
attorney it said referred to her as “the Academy’s
judge.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">In 2010, the Academy, which hosts
the Oscars awards show, sued GoDaddy.com for cybersquatting. The suit alleges
that GoDaddy.com offers a program by which its customers can “park”
a Web page—in this case, allegedly under infringing domain
names—for the sole purpose of collecting ad revenue derived when users
click onto the sites.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">Among the more than 100 domain
names at issue are oscarlist.com and academyawardsinc.com. The case is
scheduled to go to trial later this year.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">Although the case originally was
assigned to U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer in Los Angeles, the Academy
successfully moved to transfer the litigation to U.S. District Judge Audrey
Collins, who is overseeing related cases over its trademarks.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">During a hearing Monday, Fischer
rejected GoDaddy’s motion to recuse Collins, saying she would issue a
written ruling soon. “The Court finds that the motion is untimely,
frivolous, and that defense has provided no evidence that a reasonable person
could conclude that there is any bias by Judge Collins,” Fischer
concluded, according to a minute order of the proceedings.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">“Her ruling began by
characterizing the motion as both untimely and frivolous and concluded by
noting that GoDaddy had blatantly misrepresented the facts,” said David
Quinto, a partner at Los Angeles-based Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
and the Academy’s longtime trademark attorney.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">The organization’s counsel
of record, Stuart Singer, a partner in Boies, Schiller & Flexner's Fort
Lauderdale office, said he was “gratified by Judge Fischer’s
decision.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">GoDaddy.com did not respond to a
request for comment, and its attorney, Aaron McKown of Wrenn Bender in Irvine,
Calif., did not return a call for comment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">Among other things,
GoDaddy.com’s attorneys claimed in a Dec. 31 motion that the Academy has
attempted “to game the system” by steering all its cases before
Collins, who has overseen 25 of its disputes within the past 15 years. In this
case, they noted that Collins had ruled for the Academy on a number of motions,
including for dismissal and summary judgment. Collins has allegedly encouraged
GoDaddy.com to settle the case while suggesting the Academy file a second
suit.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">The Academy, in turn, has used its
leverage with Collins, whose daughter is an actress, in settlement
negotiations, the motion asserts. During a 2012 meeting on potential settlement
terms, for example, Quinto allegedly told GoDaddy.com’s attorneys that
they should know Collins is “the Academy’s judge.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">In court papers, the
Academy’s attorneys called GoDaddy.com’s claims “outrageous
and sanctionable.” In a Jan. 13 opposition filing, they noted that
GoDaddy.com did not object at the time the case was transferred. They brushed
aside arguments about Collins’ daughter, who is not an Academy member,
and called accusations about the judge’s statements misleading. They also
defended their own settlement discussions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">Quinto said his reference to
Collins as “the Academy judge”—not, he insisted, “the
Academy’s judge” as GoDaddy.com contends—simply meant she
“was familiar with the academy’s intellectual
properties.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times
New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">“GoDaddy’s motion
struck me as baseless and Judge Collins is a very well respected judge,”
he added. “Let’s just say that in my career, I’ve never seen
something like this.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto; background: white;"><em><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family:
'Times New Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN">Contact Amanda Bronstad at
<a href="mailto:abronstad@xxxxxxx";>abronstad@xxxxxxx</a></span></em><span
style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; color:
black;" lang="EN">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times New
Roman','serif'; color: black;" lang="EN"><br /> <br /> Read more: <a
href="http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202641536588/GoDaddy.com-Loses-Motion-to-Recuse-%27The-Academy%27s-Judge%27#ixzz2t2FOD93o";>
<span style="color:
#003399;">http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202641536588/GoDaddy.com-Loses-Motion-to-Recuse-%27The-Academy%27s-Judge%27#ixzz2t2FOD93o</span></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; font-family:
'Tahoma','sans-serif'; color: navy;">Philip S. Corwin, Founding
Principal</span></strong></p>
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</blockquote>
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