National Arbitration Forum Issues Decision on Yahoo! Web Addresses

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN, 2005 - http://www.arb-forum.com - The National Arbitration Forum announced today that a ruling has been issued in favor of Yahoo! regarding the rights to 54 Internet domain names, including homepageyahoo.com, yahoocalendar.com, and fantasysports-yahoo.com, among others. This is the latest in a series of claims that Yahoo! has won in defending its brand and name.

Yahoo! Inc., represented by David M. Kelly of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, L.L.P., filed a complaint electronically with the National Arbitration Forum on August 5, 2005 asserting legal rights to the Web addresses bearing close resemblance to those owned by Yahoo! Inc.

Having received no response from the Respondent, Bill Edwards a/k/a 1Ssteriods.com, to the complaint, National Arbitration Forum arbitrator Carolyn Marks Johnson found in favor of Yahoo! Inc. Bill Edwards a/k/a 1Ssteriods.com registered the disputed domain names between February 2002 and January 2005. Yahoo! Inc.’s trademark has three registrations with United States Patent and Trademark Office dating back to February 1997. The disputed domains resolve to the Respondent’s websites, which offer links to third-party sites featuring services that compete with Yahoo!’s business.

The National Arbitration Forum arbitrator found that Bill Edwards a/k/a 1Ssteriods.com did not have legitimate rights to, or interest in, the disputed Web addresses, and that the Web addresses were confusingly similar to Yahoo!’s trademark. The arbitrator also found that Bill Edwards a/k/a 1Ssteriods.com was using the addresses in bad faith by presumably profiting from “click-through” fees for diverting Internet users to third-party commercial websites.

Thousands of Internet domain disputes similar to those of Yahoo! are heard each year by the National Arbitration Forum under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The domain name dispute process is a popular alternative to lengthy and expensive trademark lawsuits.

A copy of the decision, Yahoo! Inc. v. Bill Edwards a/k/a 1Ssteriods.com is available for viewing on the National Arbitration Forum Web site at: http://www.arb-forum.com/domains/decisions/535429.htm.

About the National Arbitration Forum
The National Arbitration Forum is one of the world's leading providers of alternative dispute resolution solutions, including arbitration and mediation, representing a distinguished panel of over 1,500 attorneys and retired judges in the U.S. and in 29 countries. Founded in 1986, the National Arbitration Forum administers more than 50,000 cases annually. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the National Arbitration Forum also has offices located in New Jersey and Los Angeles. Additional information is available at the National Arbitration Forum's Web site at http://www.arbitration-forum.com