LAS VEGAS — The company operating XVideos.com was successful again in a cybersquatting claim adjudicated at WIPO, but the latest case shows the need for adult entertainment brands to be on the lookout for more than just the obvious.
XVideos.com’s UDRP claim against the operator of “XN--XVdeos-4va.net” came about after it was found that when users turn on the Portuguese character set, “XN--XVdeos-4va.net” becomes “XVídeos.net.”
“What appears worthless in English is identical to the XVideos mark in a different character set,” attorney Marc Randazza told XBIZ. “Therein lies the interesting part — not every Internet user is using the same character set. To American and U.K. users, the domain looks like a jumbled mess.”
Randazza, whose law firm Randazza Legal Group represents XVideos parent company, WGCZ S.R.O., said that once the WIPO panel weighing the cybersquatting figured that out, the rest of the decision fell into line.
Last month, WIPO panelist Alfred Meijboom found that Respondent Kadu Norfox intended consumer confusion and to profit off of the XVideos trademark and ordered the domain name transferred.
“XVideos is one of the most popular adult entertainment web sites in the world — indeed, it is the 41st most popular website globally — receiving 4.4 billion page views per month,” he said. “One of the most popular websites in the world cannot afford to be anglo-centric in its brand protection strategy.”
In the past two years, Randazza and WGCZ S.R.O. have been victorious in numerous WIPO rulings involving copycat websites. Those sites ordered transferred to the company include XVideos.co, XVideoNow.com, HD-XVideos.com, New-XVideos.com XVideos.nu, XVideosToday.net, XVideosDaily.com, XVideos.net and now XN--XVdeos-4va.net.