FC: Is nothing sacred? Brazilian soccer team wants Bible domain

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[This wording is confusing but apparently a Brazilian soccer team
known as the Corinthians (the team is quite popular) wants that domain
name. And relying on the who-can-spend-the-most-on-lawyers-wins motto,
they're trying to wrest it from a fellow who is doing nothing but
putting Bible verses on the site. All courtesy of the World
Intellectual Property Organization, should its panel rule that way, of
course. --Declan]


Will "Pele" Kick Bible Off Internet? 

BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS ^S July 4, 2000: Dr. Roberto Bianchi, an 
Argentinean negotiator, will decide by July 17, 2000 whether the domain 
"CORINTHIANS.COM" can be taken away from its long-time owner, David 
Sallen of Brookline, Massachusetts. Bianchi, appointed as judge by The 
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), has labeled the case 
"exceptional," and already extended the deadline for a decision. 
"Corinthians" is the title of two books of The Bible and only scripture 
from those books appears on the web site. This has not stopped the New 
York law firm of Gottlieb, Rackman & Reisman, who represent the 
powerful South American Soccer Team that goes by the name Corinthians, 
from attempting to use an obscure 2-year-old Brazilian law known as the 
"Pele" law, to seize possession of the domain. The Pele law is named 
after the immortal soccer hero Pele, and gives limited protection 
inside Brazil to athletes and sport teams regarding the use of their 
names, even if they are not trademarked.  Team lawyers use this to 
accuse Sallen, a U.S. citizen who claims he'd never heard of the soccer 
team until more than a year after registering CORINTHIANS, of being 
guilty of "unfair business practices" and, ironically, "bad faith."  In 
addition, because Sallen owns a number of other domains, lawyers claim 
Sallen has no right to own CORINTHIANS.COM. Due to prohibitive attorney 
fees, Sallen is representing himself. 

In their complaint soccer team lawyers equate this case with an earlier 
one, not involving either party in the CORINTHIANS dispute, where the 
domain owners had linked their site to "redirect Internet users to 
pornographic web sites." Sallen is outraged by this comparison. 

"It's been nothing but one ridiculous accusation and dirty trick (by 
the soccer team) after another" says Sallen. "Imagine comparing 
scripture to pornography!" They didn't stop there.  "In their complaint 
these people listed over fifty domain names I had never heard of, many 
sounding like trademarks, and told the judge I owned them.  None of the 
domains I own have anything to do with other peoples' trademarks; 
they're all generic. Why, even Network Solutions is now in the business 
of reselling domain names, so what's their (soccer team's) problem? 
What they're doing is harassment." 

So what are Sallen's chances of avoiding having his domain pirated? 
"I've submitted my response; now it's up to the judge they assigned me. 
It's a First Amendment issue, freedom of religion and expression, the 
U.S. Bill of Rights vs. the Pele Law ^S you decide. But from what I can 
tell, the judge has had 6 cases and awarded 6 transfers (domains taken 
from owner). Better say a prayer for me." 

For more information contact JD Sallen @ 6177316939, or 
jdsallen () ix netcom com 

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