Dot-sport decision sparks controversy
Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Dot-sport decision sparks controversy

Famous Four Media, an applicant for the gTLD .sport, has lost a determination based on community rights under Icann’s new gTLD programme

In a decision published this week and dated October 23, panellist Guido Tawil upheld a complaint filed by SportAccord (which has a competing application for .sport).

SportAccord claimed to be an established international representative institution of the sport community, comprising 107 international sports federations and other organisations.

It argued that the sport community was targeted by Famous Four’s .sport gTLD and that the community’s rights and legitimate interests would suffer material detriment.

Tawil decided that, even though SportAccord may not represent the entire sports community “it acts for a preponderant part of such community” and that its membership “is accessible to any organization” complying with its minimum standards.

He also found that the sport community “is a community that clearly distinguishes itself from other communities by its characteristics, objectives and values and is therefore “clearly delineated”.

Famous Four, based in Gibraltar, has applied to run 61 gTLDs. In a statement, the company said the decision “strikes right at the heart of the concept of freedom of expression” and confirms concerns that “the community objection process could be hijacked by competing applicants”.

“Famous Four Media is disappointed that the Panellist fails entirely to take into account that he objector is a competing applicant merely trying to game the system, and avoid the more rigid scrutiny of the Community Priority Evaluation process,” it added.

So far, nine community objections have been determined. As Managing IP recently reported, a complaint filed by the US Polo Association against Ralph Lauren’s application for .polo was upheld.

A complaint against an applications for .architect has been successful but complaints against .fly, .gay, .halal, .islam, persiangulf, .reisen and .shop were all rejected.

For more comment on the .sport case, see blog posts on The Domains, Domain Incite and Domain Name Wire.

According to the determination, neither party used outside counsel in the case.

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

A 36-member team from Zhong Lun Law Firm, including six partners, will join the newly formed East IP Group
The Delhi High Court sided with Ericsson against Indian smartphone maker Lava, bringing the companies' nine-year dispute to a close
We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
Tennessee has passed the ELVIS Act, a law that fights against AI models that mimic the voice and likeness of music artists
Rob Stien, chief communications and public policy officer at InterDigital, says the EU has forgotten innovators while trying to solve an issue that doesn’t exist
As Australia’s Qantm IP leans towards being acquired by a private equity company, sources discuss what it could mean for IP firms
Law firms that are conscious of their role in society are more likely to win work, according to a survey of over 23,000 in-house professionals
Nghiem Xuan Bac Pham, managing partner of Vision & Associates, discusses opportunities created by the US-China rift as well as profitability issues facing IP practices
Douglas Leite and two of his colleagues were intrigued by Bhering Advogados’s mission to grow its patent litigation practice
Each week Managing IP speaks to a different IP practitioner about their life and career
Gift this article