A court in the Southern District of Florida recently barred a trademark owner, who sought possession of a domain that allegedly infringed on his mark, from asserting claims under then Lanham Act and the Anti-Cybersquating Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) due to the Doctrine of Laches, thus dismissing the case in favor of the defendant.The doctrine of laches is considered in the legal realm to be an “equitable defense” that rewards those who diligently assert their claim and penalizes those who procrastinate when avowing their rights. Under this doctrine if party delays in stating their claim and as a result that delay unfairly prejudices the opposing party then the opposing party may assert the defense of laches. Generally, for a party to be unfairly prejudiced it must be shown that as a result of the delay the opposing party is in a worse position now then at the time the claim should have been brought.To read the rest of this article by Liz Oliveira of Sedo’s Legal Team, see www.sedo.com/links/showhtml.php3?Id=2203.
Viable Defense for US Domain Owners
A court in the Southern District of Florida recently barred a trademark owner, who sought possession of a domain that allegedly infringed on his mark, from asserting claims under then Lanham Act and the Anti-Cybersquating Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) due to the Doctrine of Laches, thus dismissing the case in favor of the defendant.