Here's the The Lowdown
from DN Journal,
updated daily
to
fill you in on the latest buzz going around the domain name industry.
The Lowdown is
compiled by DN Journal Editor & Publisher Ron
Jackson.
Somebody
Bullied the Wrong Grandma - How Heidi Powell
Became a Key Figure in the Fight for Domain
Owner Rights
For
as long as there has been
a domain business, domain owners
have had to deal with people trying
to steal their assets through
frivolous UDRP filings or
lawsuits. Predators quickly learned
that instead of paying the rightful owner
for it, they could get their hands on a domain name much
cheaper the underhanded way because there was
rarely a price to pay if they
got
busted.
In
the case of UDRPs, even if the
usurper is found guilty of a
Reverse Domain Hijacking
attempt,
there is no penalty for that.
In the case of lawsuits, a lot of
domain owners have had no choice but to forfeit
their domain rather than face the
sky high cost and aggravation of
a protracted legal battle against
opponents with far larger
bankrolls.
It has
gotten a little better over the
years but serious problems
still remain
because, for the most part, it was only domain owner's oxen that
were getting gored - and no one
had much interest in domain owners unless they happened to own a
name that someone thought they should
have instead.
Yet,
all of the sudden, there is
a domain owner that a lot of
people care about - a
grandmother from Washington
State named Heidi Powell
whose plight has captured widespread
media attention, attention extending
beyond the domain
world. The injustice
in her situation even caught
the eye of USA
Today.
Joseph
Peterson posted an in
depth account of Heidi's
story at the NamePros
Forum that has
now been supplemented by
dozens of posts from others,
including most notably one
of the world's leading domain
attorneys, John Berryhill,
that further illuminates the
complicated situation. I
highly recommend reading all
of it, but if you are
pressed for time I'll
attempt to give you the Cliff's
Notes version here.
In
2005 Heidi's husband
Kent registered the HeidiPowell.com
domain name and gave it to
Heidi as an anniversary
gift. She has used it ever
since - initially
Heidi
Powell The owner of HeidiPowell.com
since 2005.
for email
and more recently for her
own business. That should
have been the end of the
story. But years later,
another woman, whose name
also became Heidi Powell after
a 2010 marriage, came along
and decided the grandmother
should give up her name
because Heidi #2 was a "celebrity"
of some sort (she apparently
appeared as a fitness
trainer on an ABC-TV show
called Extreme Weight
Loss). This even though
Heidi #2 already had a perfectly
respectable domain name in HeidiPowell.net
(for the record Bruce
Springsteen is at BruceSpringsteen.net
so its not like someone
who is less well known
than the Boss's roadies
should feel the extension is
"beneath"
them).
Attorney
David Weslow
The
original Heidi
declined the new
Heidi's offers to
buy the name, so Heidi
#2 sued her
in an attempt to
take something that
clearly was not hers
to take. Since the
original Heidi and
Kent had gone
through a bankruptcy
in 2012 they
probably looked like
easy targets
as they would have
little money to mount a
defense. However,
Heidi #2 did not
plan on domain
attorney David
Weslow (WileyRein.com)
getting wind of all this
and deciding he couldn't
let it pass.
Weslow took on the
original Heidi's
case pro bono
and most expect that
case will go in the
original Heidi's
favor once the
verdict comes down. Meanwhile, the Internet
Commerce Association
(who works to
protect domain owner
rights) has already
recognized Weslow
for his selflessness
by awarding him the
ICA's first Lonnie
Borck Memorial Award.
But
wait! Heidi #2
was not done yet!
Even
with the original case still
to be resolved, Heidi #2 had a trick
play up her sleeve. She
filed a new suit
asking the judge in the
original Heidi's bankruptcy
case to re-open it,
claiming the real Heidi did
not list her domain name
among her assets of value
(never mind that at the time -
and even now - the name has
no value to anyone not named
Heidi Powell). Again Heidi
#2 found she had picked thewrong
grandma to bully. Even
though the original Heidi
would have to foot the bills
this time, she counter-sued
Heidi #2 for damages and
expenses that could run into
six figures. All of
the sudden Heidi #2
apparently realized she had
stepped in a big pile
of...well, I hate to say it
but...#2. According to the
commentary in the NamePros
thread she withdrew her
bankruptcy case lawsuit - but
now it is the original
Heidi who is not done
yet. Her counter-suit will
continue and Heidi #2 cannot
withdraw from that.
So,
while Heidi #2 now
finds herself in a
world of hurt, Heidi #1
had landed in an
unexpected new role
as a champion of
domain owner's
rights. As John
Berryhill noted in
his NamePros
commentary, "Ending
it with a bang,
particularly given
that a celebrity of
sorts is involved,
could have the beneficial
effect of sending
a message to
others similarly
situated that going
into a court or UDRP
on a flimsy
trademark claim, and
walking out with a
domain name to which
someone else is
properly entitled,
is not always as
easy as it seems."
Berryhill added,
"It really
spins some folk's
heads around when,
during the course of
a domain dispute the
trademark claimant
makes an offer, and
gets a response to
the effect of,
"No, we're
going to
sue you
for more than
that and KEEP
the domain name.
Opposing counsel
didn't used to take
those sorts of
statements seriously
until a handful of
domain registrants
began seeking, and
obtaining, damage
awards for Reverse
Domain Name
Hijacking. Those
sorts
Attorney
John Berryhill
of decisions
have made it easier
to deter frivolous
claims, and I
imagine that this
one will add to the
impact of
counter-threats in
domain disputes.
That's a good
thing."
Even
though going to war in the
right thing to do, it's not
something the real Heidi can afford to do alone.
After dozens of people asked
how they could help she
opened a GoFundMe
page where
anyone can contribute toward
the $7,000 goal to help meet
the legal expenses.
There have been lots of donations
ranging from $10 to $100 and Heidi
said every dollar will go
toward the cause - with any
money left after legal costs
being donated to the Internet
Commerce Association who
has helped spread this story
far and wide.
While
I have given you a summary
of this situation I want to
close with something more
powerful - Heidi's own
story, told in her own words
in this 3-minute YouTube
clip:
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