Hi there,

I'd like to get some advise and answers to some questions regarding
filing a lawsuit in a district court.

There are two parents of well known actresses that have had their
domain name cybersquatted. The domain names are in the form of
(www.firstnamelastname.com).

In the case of one of the cybersquatters (which we were able to find a
history of WIPO arbitrations against him of registering other names of
people), he never placed a website up on the domain and had it for
well over a year. When contacted by the mother, the person offered to
sell it for $2,000. He later offered it for a bargain of $800.

The parents want to have a website of the actress up at this location,
and want me to be the webmaster of the official site. There's no doubt
that this violates Title 15 § 1129 in my mind. Though I invite you to
comment. The law for this paragraph is below:

(b) CYBERPIRACY PROTECTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS - 

(1) IN GENERAL - 

(A) CIVIL LIABILITY- Any person who registers a domain name that
consists of the name of another living person, or a name substantially
and confusingly similar thereto, without that person's consent, with
the specific intent to profit from such name by selling the domain
name for financial gain to that person or any third party, shall be
liable in a civil action by such person.
 
(B) EXCEPTION- A person who in good faith registers a domain name
consisting of the name of another living person, or a name
substantially and confusingly similar thereto, shall not be liable
under this paragraph if such name is used in, affiliated with, or
related to a work of authorship protected under title 17, United
States Code, including a work made for hire as defined in section 101
of title 17, United States Code, and if the person registering the
domain name is the copyright owner or licensee of the work, the person
intends to sell the domain name in conjunction with the lawful
exploitation of the work, and such registration is not prohibited by a
contract between the registrant and the named person. The exception
under this subparagraph shall apply only to a civil action brought
under paragraph (1) and shall in no manner limit the protections
afforded under the Trademark Act of 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.) or
other provision of Federal or State law.

(2) REMEDIES- In any civil action brought under paragraph (1), a court
may award injunctive relief, including the forfeiture or cancellation
of the domain name or the transfer of the domain name to the
plaintiff. The court may also, in its discretion, award costs and
attorneys fees to the prevailing party.

(3) DEFINITION- In this subsection, the term 'domain name' has the
meaning given that term in section 45 of the Trademark Act of 1946 (15
U.S.C. 1127).

(4) EFFECTIVE DATE- This subsection shall apply to domain names
registered on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

A second parent had the domain name they'd like for their daughter's
website taken by a domain acquisition company. Based on what the
company does, they clearly violate the same law as well. By selling
the domain name to another individual.

I am aware that there are arbituation services established by ICANN
that can help resolve the matter. However, the costs of this service
already exceed the amount the cybersquatter will sell the name for.

With the law stating that the parents can get paid back for all
damages and court costs, it looks like a lawsuit would be the best
option if needed.

First of all, I should state that I have tried contacting multiple
attorneys, by recommendation on here, including those that specialize
in internet law, but have never recieved a single response. I found
out that some only want to deal with companies instead of individuals.
Perhaps this case isn't profitable? I don't know... So for now, I'd
like to recieve advice presuming the parents are acting "per se."

Provided that the parents live in one part of the country, in a
different state, and the cybersquatter is in another state. In the
case of a trademark lawsuit, what does the federal courts use for "in
personam" jurisdiction?

Will the parents have to fly to a district court in the state the
defendent resides in to file the lawsuit? Provided that it needs to be
filed in the defendent's state, is is possible to file it
electronically without needing to fly to the court? (or via Postal
Mail)

Second, there are many well-known cases of cybersquatters getting
prosecuted for very similar activity. I have a PACER login, but when I
look up one of these cases, there is no copy of the documents I can
download. Is court documents usually public? If I wanted to get as
much information on file from a specific case, presuming it's a public
record, how can I go about doing that?

Also, to be sure that the person has assets that would allow us to be
reimbursed for court costs/etc, what is the cheapest way to determine
the assets of the individual?

I understand that the law states that the "owner of the mark" must
file the suit. I feel I am able to assist the parents on this issue,
but I'm obviously no attorney, and if I can't do anything, then so be
it.. but is there a chance that I could be added as a plaintiff to the
suit, (I would run the website using the domain, but I can't because
the cybersquatter has the domain I need) so I can assist in getting
the names back?

Thank you,
Alan

P.S. I'm not looking for a simple "get a real attorney" response. I've
tried this already and didn't get any call backs.

HOWEVER, I'm not giving up on the idea of finding an attorney if you
believe I can find one that is willing to assist. If we do get an
attorney for the parent, is it possible for the parent to arrange to
have the attorney work with me directly (the parents won't want to
deal with the lawsuit)?