NEW YORK (November 28) -- Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton was recently awarded the prestigious 2011 IP Magazine Domain Name/Online Strategy of the Year Award for its innovative patent-pending domain name evaluation tool – the Namealizer™.
The Namealizer™ is the brainchild of Kilpatrick Townsend partner Stephen Feingold, who oversaw the creation of a web application that provides an easy and quick way to determine if a particular domain name is causing actual injury to a brand or is merely an annoyance. It also provides a record of the client’s enforcement efforts, thereby avoiding arguments against selective enforcement.
The IP Magazine Domain Name/Online Strategy of the Year Award is open to any individual or team world-wide who has demonstrated the strongest understanding and record of achievement in selecting, exploiting, managing and sustaining their domain names. Judges look for examples of flexibility, range of service and support, innovation in technology and implementation, and internal customer service and quality. The award was presented at a champagne reception on November 16 in the Grand Connaught Rooms in London.
“We are proud of our development of the Namealizer as part of the valued-added services we offer our clients,” said John Pratt, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton Intellectual Property Department Chair. “We offer the Namealizer at no charge to our existing clients. But it is used by our attorneys on a regular basis to evaluate potential infringements, saving clients money in that process.”
Cybersquatting, which is the act of registering or using a domain name with the intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else, has dramatically increased over the past decade. Since 1999, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) have handled close to 30,000 domain name disputes decided under the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (“UDRP”) involving over 50,000 domain names. Virtually every year since the commencement of the UDRP, the number of filings have grown and it appears that 2011 will set yet another record for the number of cases filed.
“I have seen how easy it is for companies to spend thousands of dollars by aggressively taking action against cybersquatting without realizing how quickly the cumulative costs can add up, even when their outside counsel uses a flat fee,” said Stephen Feingold. “I am most proud of the Namealizer because it provides our clients with a cost-saving device that in no way compromises their policing efforts.”
For a random “test” in July of 10 filed UDRP cases before WIPO, one half of the new filings were probably a waste of company money and resources, according to Feingold. On other days when Feingold has conducted a random “test”, he has found the percentage of unnecessary cases to be as high as 90%. He has never seen a day in which more than half the new cases filed were, according to the Namealizer, necessary. While precise figures are not possible, Feingold estimates that the total number of UDRP filings could be reduced by at least 33% if potential plaintiffs more carefully weighed the value of each contested domain name. The Namealizer is an easy to use effective method for accomplishing this goal.
Mr. Feingold focuses his practice on trademark, copyright, advertising and Internet law. Trained as a litigator, he currently divides his time between litigation and transactional projects advising clients with their most complicated trademark, copyright and Internet issues.
About Intellectual Property Magazine Awards
The Intellectual Property Magazine Awards provide the IP industry with an opportunity to acknowledge and applaud its highest achievers across all of its platforms, recognizing both business, private practice and individual achievement. The full range of IP activities from corporations, international law firms and smaller, boutique practices are represented: from instructing on potentially landmark cases and battling online infringers to monetizing intellectual property. A short list of finalists is prepared by a group drawn from Intellectual Property Magazine’s Editorial Board. Regardless of the number of entries in a category, the short list for that category will not usually exceed eight entries. Each entry is carefully anonymised and the category shortlist is submitted to a judging group made up of appropriately experienced members of Intellectual Property Magazine's judging panel, carefully screened for conflicts of interest. Intellectual Property Magazine, an Informa law publication, is written and edited by independent experts and read by senior legal professionals and executives in the legal fraternity world-wide. For more information, please visit: www.intellectualpropertymagazine.com.
About Kilpatrick Townsend
Kilpatrick Townsend has 18 offices extending into the four corners of the continental United States; Asia; and Europe, including: Atlanta, GA; Augusta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Denver, CO; Menlo Park, CA; New York, NY; Oakland, CA; Raleigh, NC; San Diego, CA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; Walnut Creek, CA; Washington, DC; Winston-Salem, NC; Dubai; Stockholm; Taipei, and Tokyo. For more information, please visit: www.kilpatricktownsend.com.
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