WIPO helps out Fat Albert

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on September 12th, 2005

An Associated Press report says that the World Intellectual Property Organization ordered the transfer of fatalbert.org to Bill Cosby.

Go there now and there’s a transcript of a CNN article about a bear (“Bear ransacks kitchen, steals chocolate “) from Sept. 30. Truncate the URL and it brings you to a site that offers “Free email, penis enlargement pills and breast enlargement pills”

WIPO has gotten a lot of publicity lately for taking away domain names from the people who bought them if the person or corporation who complains about it is famous or rich enough. Madonna was favored by them.

Anyone can register a domain name for as little as a few dollars. The arbitration system, which started in 1999, allows those who think they have the right to a domain to claim it without a costly court battle or payment of large fees to buy the name. Critics say the system favors trademark holders and not individuals who also may have legitimate rights to the names for parody, criticism and other purposes.

Heaven forbid Madonna or Cos should have to pony up any cash to purchase a domain name!

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