RE: [bc-gnso] FW: GoDaddy.com Loses Motion to Recuse 'The Academy's Judge'

[Marilyn Cade <marilynscade@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

ICANN is doing marketing for the new gTLDs/offering them space on ICANN website 
to do short marketing videos. Amazing! Apparently, we have already become a 
trade association for contracted parties. 


From: randruff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: psc@xxxxxxxxxxx; john@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [bc-gnso] FW: GoDaddy.com Loses Motion to Recuse 'The Academy's 
Judge'
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 16:12:01 -0500

Dear John and all, Your comment (“…This may wind up being the real shortcoming 
in the communications surrounding the new gTLD program.”) is well taken.  With 
some 100 new gTLDs already added to the root at this point, I find it somewhat 
astounding that there is so little pick up by the broader media; which is a 
direct reflection on the lack of marketing activities by new gTLD Registries.  
Rightly or wrongly, I had expected that the ‘cacophony of marketing noise’ 
derived from the aggregate of new gTLD operators would ultimately awaken 
consumer interest in this program, but personally I haven’t seen any marketing 
whatsoever… Perhaps it is a .COM  world after all, and all of this effort has 
been for naught. My two cents… Kind regards, RA Ron AndruffRNA 
Partnerswww.rnapartners.com  From: owner-bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx 
[mailto:owner-bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Phil Corwin
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 15:02
To: john@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [bc-gnso] FW: GoDaddy.com Loses Motion to Recuse 'The Academy's 
Judge' John: A few comments—·         The article is from the National Law 
Journal, not National Journal, and was triggered by GoDaddy’s failure to remove 
the trial judge for alleged bias·         The case has nothing to do with new 
gTLDs; as the story notes, the litigation was filed in 2010 (which says a lot 
about the efficiency of the Federal civil trial system) I have not made 
sufficient inquiry into the facts of the case or the underlying law to form any 
opinion on its merits. And, like many lawsuits, it could settle before a 
verdict is rendered. That said, a finding that the world’s leading registrar 
had committed trademark infringement in its domain parking activities would 
have very broad legal and industry repercussions, which is the reason I brought 
it to the attention of BC members. As for communications efforts surrounding 
new gTLDs, I would agree that there are substantial shortcomings in current 
efforts, including ICANN’s own. Best regards, Philip Philip S. Corwin, Founding 
PrincipalVirtualaw LLC1155 F Street, NWSuite 1050Washington, DC 
20004202-559-8597/Direct202-559-8750/Fax202-255-6172/cell Twitter: @VlawDC 
"Luck is the residue of design" -- Branch Rickey From: john@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
[mailto:john@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 2:07 PM
To: Phil Corwin; bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [bc-gnso] FW: GoDaddy.com Loses Motion to Recuse 'The Academy's 
Judge' This email prompts a thought. 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. To the 
naked eye, it likely seems that the Academy should prevail in the case against 
oscarlist.com or academyawardsinc.com; so much so that if GoDaddy were to win 
the case, it might seem like a miscarriage of justice.  Now that would be a 
problem beyond this one case. 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. Cheers, John Berard --------- 
Original Message ---------Subject: [bc-gnso] FW: GoDaddy.com Loses Motion to 
Recuse 'The Academy's Judge'
From: "Phil Corwin" <psc@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: 2/11/14 9:35 am
To: "bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx" <bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx>FYI—very high profile cybersquatting 
case against Go Daddy… Subject: GoDaddy.com Loses Motion to Recuse 'The 
Academy's Judge' 
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
 GoDaddy.com Loses Motion to Recuse 'The Academy's Judge' Amanda Bronstad, The 
National Law JournalFebruary 04, 2014, 05:03 PM    | 1988 Academy Awards red 
carpet Photo: Alan Light via Wikimedia Commons 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.”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.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.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.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.“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.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.”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.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.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.”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.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.”“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.”Contact Amanda Bronstad at 
abronstad@xxxxxxx.

Read more: 
http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202641536588/GoDaddy.com-Loses-Motion-to-Recuse-%27The-Academy%27s-Judge%27#ixzz2t2FOD93o
 Philip S. Corwin, Founding PrincipalVirtualaw LLC1155 F Street, NWSuite 
1050Washington, DC 20004202-559-8597/Direct202-559-8750/Fax202-255-6172/cell 
Twitter: @VlawDC "Luck is the residue of design" -- Branch Rickey No virus 
found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.3462 / Virus Database: 3697/7069 - Release Date: 02/06/14No 
virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.3462 / Virus Database: 3697/7069 - Release Date: 02/06/14