Hise
GoPets Ltd. v. Hise
Opinion
Opinion
W. FLETCHER, J.
Michael Allen Firestein, Robert H. Horn, Proskauer Rose LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for the plaintiff/appellee.
Edward Hise, Pro se, Simi Valley, CA, Joseph Hise, Pro se, Simi Valley, CA, Stephen Hume Sturgeon, Stephen H. Sturgeon & Associates, Potomac, MD, for the defendants/appellants.
Before: DIARMUID F. O'SCANNLAIN, WILLIAM A. FLETCHER, and RICHARD R. CLIFTON, Circuit Judges.
W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge:
The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ("ACPA") prohibits "cybersquatters" from registering internet domain names that are identical or confusingly similar to registered service marks and trademarks. See 15 U.S.C. § 1125 (d)(1). The prohibition contained in § 1125(d)(1) applies when a domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a mark that is distinctive "at the time of registration of the domain name." Id. The primary question before us is whether the term "registration" applies only to the initial registration of the domain name, or whether it also applies to a re-registration of a currently registered domain name by a new registrant. We hold that such re-registration is not a "registration" within the meaning of § 1125(d)(1).