The 1st Circuit reversed a lower court decision, ruling that a US court, applying the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA), may overturn an ICAAN UDRP decision. A WIPO panel ruled that the domain name corinthians.com be transferred from Sallen to a Brazilian soccer team. Sallen filed suit in US federal court seeking a declaration that he was not a cybersquatter under the ACPA and to have the transfer stopped. Finding that a "certain controversy" existed as to the domain name, the court applied the ACPA. The court held that under Section 1114(2)(D)(v) of the ACPA a domain name owner who has lost a domain name under the UDRP has a cause of action for an injuction to return the domain name if such owner can show he is in compliance with the ACPA. The court determined that Sallen was in compliance and issued the injunction.
1st Circuit Opinion at http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=1st&navby=case&no=011197
WIPO Administrative Decision http://www.arbiter.wipo.int/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-0461.html
Keywords: domain names, international jurisdiction, cybersquatting
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