David Weslow Discusses Recent Ruling in Domain Name Theft Lawsuit

December 29, 2015

David E. Weslow, a partner in Wiley Rein’s Intellectual Property Practice, was quoted by Bloomberg BNA’s Electronic Commerce & Law Report, in a December 22 article about a recent decision in Watson v. Doe by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia following the Acme Billing ruling. Both cases involved “cybersquatting by domain name theft”, in which hackers gained control of domain names they did not own. In Watson v. Doe, the court held that the domain registrant, Gray Watson, was entitled to relief under the in rem provisions of the federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act and the court ordered return of the stolen domain name.

While some domain holders have sought to recover stolen domains under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), Mr. Weslow indicated that the UDRP is not always the best vehicle to address domain theft. He pointed to the Acme Billing as a good roadmap for the court to follow in these cases. “Unfortunately domain name theft continues to be a growing problem, and UDRP proceedings involving domain name thefts continue to yield mixed results,” Mr. Weslow said. “These cases demonstrate that there are legal claims that can be successfully used to recover stolen domain names.”

Wiley Rein LLP represents Gray Watson and Acme Billing Company.

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