National Arbitration Forum Issues Two Decisions on Amazon Web Addresses

Minneapolis, MN - http://www.arb-forum.com – The National Arbitration Forum announced today that two rulings have been issued in favor of Amazon.com regarding the rights to 13 Internet domain names, including amazzone.com, amzaon.com, and amazln.com, among others.

Amazon.com, Inc., represented by Kevin M. Hayes, filed a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum on August 10, 2005 against the respondent Michele Dinoia c/o SZK.com. The complaint asserted legal rights to 12 Web addresses bearing close resemblance to those owned by Amazon.com, Inc.

Amazon.com's complaint questioned the legitimacy of the respondent's rights and interests in the domain names as well as the domain names' confusing similarity to Amazon.com's trademark. It also asserted that the respondent had registered and was using the domain names in bad faith, and was "a 'recidivist cybersquatter' with more than 20 reported decisions against it for conduct like that reflected in the Complaint in this proceeding," according to the decision authored by National Arbitration Forum panelists Terry F. Peppard, Paul A. Dorf, and Paul M. DeCicco.

Michele Dinoia c/o SZK.com defended the registration and use of one of the domain names, amazonne.com, by arguing that "ammazzone" is a generic Italian term, the equivalent of the generic English word "amazon," and not confusingly similar to Amazon.com's trademark. The three-member panel rejected this argument, declaring that "the translation of a mark into another language…does not defeat a claim of confusing similarity." The panel ordered all 12 domain names transferred to Amazon.com, Inc.

Amazon.com filed a separate complaint on August 9, 2005 asserting legal rights to amazln.com. A separate National Arbitration Forum panel found in favor of Amazon.com and ordered that domain name be transferred as well.

National Arbitration Forum hears thousands of Internet domain disputes similar to those of Amazon.com each year - 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.

Copies of these decisions are available for viewing on the National Arbitration Forum website at: http://www.arb-forum.com/domains/decisions/536281.htm and
http://www.arb-forum.com/domains/decisions/536549.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 website at http://www.arbitration-forum.com.

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