“I’ve worked with musicians, artists and entertainers that in the eyes of the media are very wealthy,” said lawyer Jason Gabbard, who represented a fashion firm that settled a suit against Dash and his wife over $148,505 in unpaid fees. “But to borrow a phrase from my Kentucky homeland, they haven’t got a pot to p— in - they’re broke.”

The article refers to Dash’s “MC Hammer-like financial abyss[.]” Ouch!

Do you really think most musicians own the homes you see on Cribs?

I’m not even sure where to start with this article. Instead of dissecting the entire piece, all I will say for now is that Microsoft has successfully used Paris Convention priority many times. Its strategy in some cases has been to file trademark applications in countries which do not have an easily accessible trademark databases, such as Germany. Microsoft will then go about registering domain names and also filing trademark applications in other countries within 6-months of the original filing, thereby claiming a priority date of the original filing. It allows the company to operate in stealth mode while at the same time securing priority.

UPDATE: Sure enough, at least one US application is based on a foreign filing in South Africa.

It’s unclear if LaLa has some sort of relationship with Flickr that they believe permits this activity even without some express opt-in by Flickr users. Barring such an arrangement, I expect LaLa is going to be spending a bit of time dealing with a flood of DMCA notifications.

Update: it appears LaLa got the message, and has pulled all of the suspect photos from the site.

The Panel is satisfied that the Respondent’s intention in registering and using the Domain Name as she has was to parody the Complainants’ famous name and trade mark and that she was justified in believing that the parody would successfully differentiate the parody from the original such as to obviate any significant risk of confusion or deception. In such circumstances it would be perverse to categorise the Respondent’s intentions when she registered the Domain Name as bad faith intentions for the purposes of the Policy. The Policy is intended to address clear cases of cybersquatting, and whatever else the present case may be, it is not that.

The decision can be viewed here.

The footer to the site reads:
NOTE: This site is a parody for humor purposes only. No actual weapons may be bought on this site. “Hello Kitty” is a trademark of Sanrio, Inc. You’re taking the wrong drugs if you think that Sanrio would ever license the use of Hello Kitty for a firearm or weapon of any sort. “Disney Princess” is a trademark of the Walt Disney Company. “CareBear” and “Rainbow Brite” are trademarks of American Greetings Corporation and/or Hallmark. There is no such thing as “Sucking-Chest-Wound Bear.” “My Little Pony” and “Easy-Bake Oven” are trademarks of Hasbro. “Dora the Explorer” is owned by Nickelodeon UK. “Martha Stewart Colors” is a trademark of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. GlamGuns.com has no connection with and is not affiliated with Sanrio, Inc, Hasbro, Walt Disney Company, Hallmark, American Greetings Corporation, Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon UK, Nick Jr., Martha Stewart, Omnimedia, Inc, Paris Hilton, Mother Theresa, Lady Diana, or, in fact, much of anyone really, especially Dick Cheney who, at no time, was CEO of our corporation or even on the Board of Directors. No, really. Would we lie to you?