SECTIONS 17525-17528.5 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 17525-17528.5

17525. (a) It is unlawful for a person, with a bad faith intent to
register, traffic in, or use a domain name, that is identical or
confusingly similar to the personal name of another living person or
deceased personality, without regard to the goods or services of the
parties.
(b) This section shall not apply if the name registered as a
domain name is connected to a work of authorship, including, but not
limited to, fictional or nonfictional entertainment, and dramatic,
literary, audiovisual, or musical works.
(c) A domain name registrar, a domain name registry, or any other
domain name registration authority that takes any action described in
subdivision (a) that affects a domain name shall not be liable to
any person for that action, regardless of whether the domain name is
finally determined to infringe or dilute a trademark or service mark.

17526. In determining whether there is a bad faith intent pursuant
to Section 17525, a court may consider factors, including, but not
limited to, the following:
(a) The trademark or other intellectual property rights of the
person alleged to be in violation of this article, if any, in the
domain name.
(b) The extent to which the domain name consists of the legal name
of the person alleged to be in violation of this article or a name
that is otherwise commonly used to identify that person.
(c) The prior use, if any, by the person alleged to be in
violation of this article of the domain name in connection with the
bona fide offering of any goods or services.
(d) The legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the person's or
deceased personality's name in an Internet Web site accessible under
the domain name by the person alleged to be in violation of this
article.
(e) The intent of a person alleged to be in violation of this
article to divert consumers from the person's or deceased personality'
s name online location to a site accessible under the domain name
that could harm the goodwill represented by the person's or deceased
personality's name either for commercial gain or with the intent to
tarnish or disparage the person's or deceased personality's name by
creating a likelihood of confusion as to the source, sponsorship,
affiliation, or endorsement of the site.
(f) The offer by a person alleged to be in violation of this
article to transfer, sell, or otherwise assign the domain name to the
rightful owner or any third party for substantial consideration
without having used, or having an intent to use, the domain name in
the bona fide offering of any goods or services.
(g) The intentional provision by the person alleged to be in
violation of this article of material and misleading false contact
information when applying for the registration of the domain name.
(h) The registration or acquisition by the person alleged to be in
violation of this article of multiple domain names that are
identical or confusingly similar to names of other living persons or
deceased personalities.
(i) Whether the person alleged to be in violation of this article
sought or obtained consent from the rightful owner to register,
traffic in, or use the domain name.
(j) The intent of a person alleged to be in violation of this
article to mislead, deceive, or defraud voters.

17527. As used in this article:
(a) "Deceased personality" shall have the same meaning as defined
in Section 3344.1 of the Civil Code.
(b) "Domain name" means any alphanumeric designation that is
registered with or assigned by any domain name registrar, domain name
registry, or other domain name registration authority as part of an
electronic address on the internet.
(c) "Internet" shall have the meaning specified in Section 17538.
(d) "Traffic in" refers to transactions that include, but are not
limited to, sales, purchases, loans, pledges, licenses, exchanges of
currency, or any other transfer for consideration or receipt in
exchange for consideration.

17528. Jurisdiction for actions brought pursuant to this article
shall be in accordance with Section 410.10 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.

17528.5. In addition to any other remedies available under law, a
court may order the transfer of a domain name as part of the relief
awarded for a violation of this article.