David Weslow Discusses Unique Domain Name Theft Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Client

April 9, 2015

David E. Weslow, a partner in Wiley Rein’s Intellectual Property Practice, was quoted by Trademarks & Brands Online (TBO) in an article about a unique domain lawsuit Mr. Weslow filed on behalf of his client, Acme Billing Company.

The suit, filed in October 2014, is the first federal lawsuit of its kind on behalf of an e-commerce company that had a number of Internet domain names stolen by computer hackers based in China. Acme is seeking damages and the return of 14 domain names that it had used until August 2014, when the hackers breached the company’s domain name registration account and made an unauthorized transfer of the domain names to a registrar in China.

Acme is just the latest victim “in a growing number of domain name thefts,” Mr. Weslow said in the TBO article.

The case, Acme Billing Company v. John Doe, includes claims under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. It is also the first known case in which the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is being used to attempt to regain possession of stolen domain names, and the decision could set an important legal precedent.

Mr. Weslow is also preparing to file a new lawsuit to recover a domain name stolen from another Wiley Rein client.

To read the TBO article, click here.