It seems like a no-brainier to me, but I have seen at least 10 stories in the mainstream media about this today and no one reported it on domaining.com, so I’ll bite.
TheJayLenoShow.com was ordered transferred to Mr. Leno in a WIPO action today.
The domain was originally registered by Guadalupe Zambrano of Texas, back in 2004, while Mr.Leno was firmly entrenched as the host of “The Tonight Show” and years before anyone knew (including Jay Leno) that there would ever be a Jay Leno Show.
Still, the domain was pointed to Zambrano’s real estate site, which certainly didn’t help his case.
The World Intellectual Property Organization decided that Leno does have common law trademark rights to his own name after working for 30 years in the public eye and found Zambrano had no legitimate claim to the domain name and gave Zambrano 10 days to transfer the domain name to Leno.
Once again as we discussed the other day in relation to the mass registration of Michael Jackson domains, you have no right to use the name of a famous person be he dead or alive, or host of the Tonight Show or his own.
How can Leno have rights to a domain name that although it incorporates his name, when he does not even own his name. According to the whois search General Electric(owner of NBC) owns JayLeno.com and anything that has his name, such as JayLenosGarage.com by awarding Leno this domain wipo is giving it to someone who can’t have full control of it. NBC or GE, not Leno, will own the trademark for “The Jay Leno Show”. Jay Leno would not be able to take this show to any other network, and that is not true ownership. So, I don’t agree with you, this was the wrong decision. But to WIPO it truth does not matter, they are nothing more than an employment company, I think that since the fees come from the complainant, they consider them as clients. If Leno refuses to habd it over to NBC, they would have to take him to arbitration, But the people at NBC don’t know any better, I saw that they just went after TheTonightShow.com are you kidding me? The Tonight Show has been on for close to 50 years, and someone else has been using the domain name since the internet was invented.
@WIPOisajoke – You’re missing the point… Jay Leno “licenced” his trademark to NBC/GE. He didn’t “sell” it to NBC/GE. So Jay Leno continues to own the “Jay Leno” trademark and has a legitimate trademark right.
I agree with “Talk”
Jay Leno owns his name & has a right to this domain.
So, you actually think that Leno has more rights than NBC for “The Jay Leno Show” trademark? Look at every show that’s been on NBC, they or GE own every trademark for those shows, look it up. My point is: full ownership is having full control over the domain name, even if Leno gains control over his own name, he will never have the trademark for “The Jay Leno Show”. Just ask David Letterman, although, he’s been gone for 17 years, NBC continues to renew the trademark for “Late Night with David Letterman”, so making sure that David will never use that title, again look it up on USPTO website.
I think Leno has more rights to his name, than the guy in Texas who lost the domain.
So, you do agree, that NBC has more rights to it. I’m very surprised that people that are ‘supposed’ to be in the business, just can’t reason. When you’re wrong, and you are shown you are wrong, it’s smart to admit it.
UDRPtalk wrote.
@WIPOisajoke – You’re missing the point… Jay Leno “licenced” his trademark to NBC/GE. He didn’t “sell” it to NBC/GE. So Jay Leno continues to own the “Jay Leno” trademark and has a legitimate trademark right.
Can’t Leno license his trademark, and still be the owner of JayLeno.com? What proof is there that Leno licensed his name to NBC/GE, and not sold it to them? I remember reading in Domain name wire that GE aquired the domain, and not that Leno aquired it and then licensed it to NBC/GE, You guys sound like Leno’s employees, are you?
My point is that if there is another person or entity, that has more rights than Leno, it should not be given to Leno. That is ridiculos. The arbitrator is from the USA, he knows very well that it’s NBC/GE, who will ultimatley have the trademark for “The Jay Leno Show”.
…and you sound like the fool that already tried that circular logic on the panelist and had his hat handed to him.
Had NBC/GE gone after the name, they’d have had a much harder time proving their case. Maybe Jay will put it into their name, maybe not. Big deal.
The point is, Guadalupe Zambrano (you?) clearly has no rights to the name at all. To claim Jay Leno does not have superior rights is just stunningly retarded thinking.
You want to claim Madonna does not own her own name as a TM too, even though it is registered to an entity other than herself?
Better do your homework then. Start here:
http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-0847.html
Gee… familiar scenario, huh?
She went for it herself.
Is it held in her name? No
And WIPO IS A JOKE uses a lot of names when he posts here, because these posts are all the same when they are about TM or he has relatives that sound the same when posting here. BOTTOM FUCK LINE JAY LENO who has a fucking show and has been on the Tonight “SHOW” has a right to his name.
2 more Leno employees?
“When you’re wrong, and you are shown you are wrong, it’s smart to admit it.”
or dismiss the messenger(s), huh? The only poseur here is you. Go away, troll.