Google Partnership Not Enough to Build Trademark Rights in U.S.

摘要

Owners of a Ukrainian website couldn't sustain a cybersquatting claim because there was no evidence that they ever used their trademark in U.S. commerce. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted summary judgment against Ukraine's Klumba.ua LLC after finding the company had no unregistered trademark rights here. Klumba's partnership with Google LLC for advertising revenue didn't translate into U.S. trademark use, the court said. The case was one of a very few addressing whether online commerce supports a claim of trademark rights in the U.S., according to the ruling. The decision puts up roadblocks against companies that aren't serving American customers from disputing domain name ownership under U.S. law.