Background on Avlon Industries vs. Art Robinson -- Reverse Domain Name Hijacking by Trademark Holders

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

Art Robinson is a thirtythree year old entreprenuer. He is the owner
of Sheldeez Hair Products and salon located in Herndon, Virginia. Sheldeez
is engaged in the business of hair service and the selling of hair products
in it's salon and on the internet
http://www.sheldeez.com.

One of the many product lines that Sheldeez sells is KeraCare. KeraCare
is manufactured by Avlon Industries an Illinois corporation.

As a means of advertising to the public that they could purchase KeraCare
online Art registered the domain name keracare.com in May of 1999. This
substantially increased Sheldeez's sales of KeraCare products. Art
thought that Avlon would be delighted with his increased sales since their
policy is not to sell directly to the public,(they sell their products through
salons like the one Art owns) he was making more money for them, and
he was bringing their products to people who couldn't get them otherwise(military
personnel overseas,african americans working abroad, etc...)

In August of 2000 Art received a letter from Avlon attorneys asking him to
stop using the domain name and deliver it to Avlon. They suggested
that Art was infringing on their trademark by using the domain name. Art
assumed the letter was sent in error because he had done thorough research
about the legality of his domain name registration. Art knew that as
an authorized, legal, lawful retailer of KeraCare he had as much right to
the Domain name as any other authorized seller of KeraCare products.
Judges and arbitrators in the U.S. and abroad have said that having
a trademark does not entitle you to any domain name. Please reference
these cases.
Case1
Case2. Even
more judges and arbitrators have said that this type of activity is "reasonable
use of a manufacturers trademark by a retailer". Please reference these
cases.
Case3
Case4

In May of 2001 Avlon filed a federal lawsuit against Art alleging cybersquatting
and trademark infringement. Art was puzzled. He was obviously
not a cybersquatter. A cybersquatter is someone who registers famous
domain names with the sole purpose of selling them to a trademark holder
or business entity later. He has no nor has he ever had any interest
in selling the domain name to Avlon or anyone else. He uses the domain
names as a means of advertising that he sells KeraCare and he does lawfully
sell KeraCare on his website.

When it became obvious that Art would fight the lawsuit Avlon through phone
calls and letters to its distributors asked that their distributors not sell
any Avlon products to him or anyone from his salon. While the matter
is pending no less.
Please see letter
here. I'll let you decide what they meant by and I quote their letter
dated August 3, 2001; "Because their ability to maintain an arbitrary position
is contingent upon purchasing our products, we are requesting your help." A
clear illegal attempt to gain an unfair advantage against Art. If you
can win on the merits of your case, win on the merits. Let the courts
tell us who is right. Don't use illegal tactics that are against the
spirit of American business. Why would this multi-million dollar
corporation need to gain an advantage against a small enterprise like Art's.
Because they are wrong on the law and the facts and will be defeated.

If you disagree with this assault on fair play in business please sound off
to Avlon Industries in opposition to this travesty with the following person:

You may send them U.S. mail at Avlon Industries, 5401 W. 65th St., Bedford
Park, IL 60638, Attention: Ali Syed

Please also inform any media outlet who may find this story newsworthy. One
person can make a difference.

If you would like to view documents filed in this case please see links to
all filings below.