District Court or Circuit Court Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

District Court or Circuit Court - Essay Example Falwell. However, it should be noted that Rev. Falwell had brought a complaint alleging that Mr. Lamparello was guilty of trademark infringement, which Rev. Falwell alleged was intellectual property that protected his website, as he had at least one registered trademark, even though it was not on the domain name www.falwell.com or www.fallwell.com (Atkinson, Sorkin, & Gold 2003). Rev. Falwell also stated that he had legal rights in the name â€Å"Falwell† which included â€Å"Listen America with Jerry Falwell†, a popular show, as well as a pending trademark on the name â€Å"Jerry Falwell†. He therefore requested relief in the form of www.fallwell.com being transferred from Mr. Lamparello to his ministries and control, on the grounds of trademark infringement, false designation of origin, unfair competition, and cybersquatting (Atkinson et. al. 2003). Mr. Lamparello filed suit in the Eastern District Court of Virginia, accusing Rev. Falwell and his ministry of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking in violation of the Anticybersquatting Protection Act (Lamparello v. Falwell, 2004). This suit was filed in accordance with the Uniform Domain Name Dispute-Resolution Policy, commonly known as UDRP, which states that â€Å"most types of trademark-based domain-name disputes must be resolved by agreement, court action, or arbitration† (Internet corporation for, 2011). The District Court ruled in favor of the defendant, finding that there was a likelihood of confusion based on the â€Å"distinctive and strong† presence of the Defendant’s trademark. The District Court also found trademark infringement was evident as the Defendant was able to prove that he did, indeed, have a registered trademark, and he had used that trademark. The appeals court, however, overturned the findings, stating that there was no trademark infringement or false designation of origin since Mr. Lamparello did not intend to make money from his website, and used it only for