SDNY District Court slams shut Le Book Publishing copyright claim against Black Book Publishing, reports David Walker in "Le Book Calls Black Book "Cheap Imitation"; Judge Is Unswayed" 

The defendant copied directory listings from the plaintiff's directory, but not the arrangement, so no relief from the court, which states:

"It is a basic principle of copyright law that facts [such as directory listings] cannot be copyrighted, no matter how much effort has been put into discovering and compiling these facts."

SparkNet claims rights in Jack and the slogan "playing what we want," but was not successful pursuing its claim recently in Illinois, according to this article:

Not everyone sees things SparkNet's way. Earlier this month, a magistrate judge in U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois ruled in favor of Bonneville International Corp. in a trademark infringement case SparkNet filed. The judge ruled that Bonneville's use of the slogans "whatever we feel like" and "whatever we want" didn't constitute infringement, adding, "This battle is better fought in the marketplace than in the court. ... If every radio station that adopts a slogan ...   more »

A Wisconsin federal court has dismissed TRO action against Vancouver registrar and undisclosed registrant of www.amercangirl.com site.  Court proposes ICANN UDRP and ACPA in rem actions as alternatives.

American Girl LLC v. Nameview Inc., (E.D. Wis. 8/9/05)

The Nation Arbitration Forum has released this decision: 

The Estate of Marlon Brando v. thewordbank twb, Claim Number: FA0506000505502,

http://www.arb-forum.com/domains/decisions/505502.htm

Panelist Hugh Putnam decides in favor of the Complainant, stating:

Respondent registered the <marlonbrando.net> domain name to prevent Complainant from reflecting its MARLON BRANDO mark in a corresponding domain name.  Furthermore, based on an article published in Artnet Magazine, Respondent has engaged in a pattern of such conduct by registering several domain names with the proper names of artists and celebrities.  These circumstances are evidence of bad faith registration and use pursuant to Policy ¶ 4(b)(ii).  ...   more »