Columbia Sportswear Wins Claim Against 'Cybersquatter'; Canadian Ordered to Give Up Internet Names Used in 'Bad Faith'.Business Editors PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 2000 Columbia Sportswear Columbia Sportswear Company NASDAQ: COLM is a United States company that manufactures and distributes outerwear and sportswear. Founded in 1938 by the late Paul Lamfrom, father of present chairperson Gert Boyle, the company is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Company(R) (Nasdaq:COLM COLM Column COLM Colorado National Monument (US National Park Service) COLM Committee On Lay Ministry ), a leading international seller of outdoor apparel and footwear, announced today that it has successfully taken legal action against an individual who registered Internet domain names using Columbia's long-established trademarks. This "cybersquatter", who attempted to sell these two domain names to Columbia earlier this year for $750,000 each, recently lost an arbitration panel arbitration panel A group of individuals charged with resolving a dispute between individuals and/or organizations. Arbitration panels to resolve investment disputes are sponsored by self-regulatory organizations such as NASD. decision and has been required to transfer both domain names to Columbia for free. "This is 'High Noon' in Cyberspace," said Tim Boyle Tim Boyle (born January 28, 1984) is an Australian rules football player, playing forward with the Hawthorn Hawks of the Australian Football League. His career has been plagued by injuries. , Columbia's president and chief executive officer. "We have fought against misuse of our intellectual property rights for many years and with this victory we're taking the fight to the Internet. We have zero-tolerance for intellectual property infringement, and we're glad to make an example of a person who not only violated our rights, but showed his bad faith by attempting to sell us trademarks that we already own." In March 2000, Columbia Sportswear filed a complaint against the Canadian cybersquatter before the World Intellectual Property Organization using the dispute resolution policies of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers See ICANN. (body, networking) Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers - (ICANN) The non-profit corporation that was formed to assume responsibility for IP address allocation, protocol parameter assignment, domain name system management, and root server system (ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, www.icann.org) A non-profit, international association founded in 1998 and incorporated in the U.S. It is the successor to IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority), which manages Internet addresses, domain names and the huge number ). An arbitrator ruled in May that the cybersquatter had registered and used and www.columbia-sports-wear-company.com in "bad faith" and had no legitimate interest in the trademarks he had used. The cybersquatter, who resides in Quebec, Canada, was required to transfer both domain names to Columbia Sportswear Company, which owns these trademarks. The transfers were recently completed. The full text of the decision of the World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Center is available online, at www.icann.org. Founded in 1938 in Portland, Ore., Columbia Sportswear Company is a global leader in the design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of active outdoor apparel and footwear. As one of the largest outerwear manufacturers in the world and the leading seller of skiwear ski·wear n. Clothing appropriate for various types of skiing. in the United States, the Company has developed an international reputation for quality, performance, functionality and value. To learn more about Columbia Sportswear, please visit the Company's Web site at www.columbia.com. |
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