Philippe Pierre Dauman, Head of one of the largest media conglomerates Viacom (for instance, satellite and cable networks MTV, Nickelodeon channel and company Paramount Pictures in particular, belong to him) is disappointed with the decision of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) commission. Legal attorneys, representing his interest, couldn’t prove his rights for domain philippepierredauman.com.
The complaint was examined in the frames of a uniform domain-name dispute-resolution policy (UDRP). And formally the WIPO commission looks absolutely fair. Philippe Pierre Dauman’s name is not a registered trademark and is not protected by intellectual rights. Thus domain philippepierredauman.com could be registered by anyone willing to. This loophole has been used by company «Dinner Business». Moreover, soon after the registration of the domain it’s representatives addressed Viacom with a proposal to discuss the amount for purchasing the domain. They also hinted that if Dauman would not be interested in the deal, the domain would be used in some kind of media business. Obviously this usage could cause serious misunderstanding. Dauman’s legal attorneys regard these actions as a blackmail attempt.
Anyway, there are no doubts that it’s a clear case of cybersquatting and domain philippepierredauman.com has been registered with malaign purposes. However the first and decisive case at the complaint examination in the frames of UDRP is the fact of intellectual rights violation. In this case there is no such. Nonetheless the experts believe that Dauman will not limit himself to case examining in WIPO and he will go to court where his chances for success look promising.
