Henley Sues Over Web Names
Author: Gail Mitchell
Publication: Billboard
Date: October 23, 1999
Abstract: Henley sues a company that bought up domains with his name on them in order to sell them back to him for profit.
In the latest twist in the still-evolving dance between the music industry and the Web, a Sarasota, Fla.-based Internet company is being sued by Don Henley and Eagles Ltd. on the grounds of copyright infringement.
The federal suit, filed Oct. 7 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleges that Mark Elsis and his firm, Lovearth, registered the domain names don-henley.net, don-henley.org, donhenley.org, theendoftheinnocence.com, and e-a-g-l-e-s.com without Henley's or the band's prior knowledge or consent (BillboardBulletin, Oct. 12).
The filing further claims that Elsis--whose Lovearth organization is purportedly dedicated to preventing the extinction of rain forests and mankind--said he would present all the domain names to Henley. However, the "defendant has consistently refused to assign the domain names to Henley and Eagles Ltd. and also seeks money from Henley and Limited as a condition," the filing says.
The suit seeks an injunction against Elsis' use of the domain names, transfer of the names to Henley and the Eagles, and payment of damages, plus attorneys' fees and costs.
Henley and Eagles manager Irving Azoff says, "This person has made some demands on Don, and we feel he's violated all sense of decency. We certainly don't object to the fan who wants to host a legitimate site. But to steal a person's name and try to send messages that aren't consistent with what an entertainer has worked his entire career to build up? You've got to protect your name."
Representing Henley and Eagles Ltd. are Jill Pietrini and Edward Jordan of Los Angeles-based Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. "Our primary goal is to get the name back," says Pietrini.
"At this point, damages have not yet been determined because they will be primarily based on the defendant's profits," she says.
The Henley suit over Web site name ownership comes on the heels of industry disagreement over whether record labels should own the Web site addresses of acts on their rosters (Billboard, June 19).
Robert Rosenbloum, an attorney who specializes in intellectual property law for Atlanta-based Greenberg Traurig, says, "We're definitely going to see more of this [third-party registration] as the Internet's scope widens.
"The World Intellectual Property Organisation is currently discussing the implementation of rules that might prohibit the registration of famous trademarks by anyone other than the rightful trademark owner," he says. "But that may be difficult to apply to a recording artist because the name could be one shared by other people or companies, for example, Michael Jackson or Jewel.
"It's quite an intriguing situation," adds Rosenbloum. "But from what I've seen in most cases where these issues have been addressed, the court has held in favor of the rightful owner."
Elsis could not be reached for comment.
