YiffyToys (name dispute)

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There was a dispute about the use of the name YiffyToys in 2008-2009. It was used by two adult supplies companies:

Status[edit]

The dispute has been largely resolved, with YiffyToys.de continuing to use the name, while the shop YiffyToys.com has been renamed to FetishZone.net.
The site yiffy-toys.de has been transfered to Suran in March 2008.
The site yiffytoys.com has been transfered to Suran on 2009-07-06 after a dispute at the WIPO Arbitration Center ordered it to be transfered to Suran on 2009-06-17. Thus ending this dispute.

History[edit]

Suran opened the website YiffyToys.de in February 2006. The site banner used the full name; however, it was sometimes referred to as "YiffyToys" without the .de suffix. With the later renaming of us.YiffyToys.de to YiffyToys.us this has become the norm.

The domain YiffyToys.com was purchased by Tig Wolf on 2 November 2007, who subsequently launched an e-commerce website at that address. According to Tig, he relied on the prior non-registration of YiffyToys.com, YiffyToys.net, YiffyToys.org, and YiffyToys.us as an indication that the name was suitable. At this time the pair owned another domain swollensheath.com, registered one day earlier.[1]

As both sites sell similar products, Suran expressed concern to Jaeger and Tig that their use of the term would cause confusion. However, Tig stated that by that time the pair had spent considerable funds on legal costs and promotional items related to the name, and were unwilling to change it.

Suran registered the domains yiffy-toys.com, yiffytoys.net and yiffy-toys.org on 22 December 2007, while Jaeger and Tig registered yiffytoys.org and yiffy-toys.de on the same day.

On 21st April 2008 Jaeger and Tig renamed their shop to Fetish Zone and notified customers of their new domain.

Trademarks[edit]

  • Suran filed a similar application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on 6 March, under a law which allows the use of a foreign application's filing date.[4][5] This mark was scheduled for publication on 16th September 2008.
  • In-between these filings - specifically, on 19 February - Tig Wolf applied to the USPTO for the mark "Yiffy Toys" in class 10 (medical apperatus).[6][3][7] The Trademark Examining Attorney has refused registration.
  • On 28 July 2008 the German mark "YiffyToys" from Suran was officially entered and published the next day. It was registered later that year.
  • On 13 August 2008 the review of the US mark "YiffyToys" from Suran was officially completed, published on 16th September 2008 and registered on 02 December 2008.
  • On 11 December 2008 the conflicting US mark-application for Tig Wolf was declined.[8]
  • As of 31 March 2009 Jaeger Fuchs is no longer reachable by Suran's lawyer, Suran's lawyer has claimed to have left an invalid phone number.
  • As of April the 27th the domain YiffyToys.com was under a UDRP-dispute at the WIPO [9].
  • On June the 17th the WIPO decided that YiffyToys.com is to be transfered to Suran.

Yiffy-toys.de transfer[edit]

  • On 13 March 2008, control of yiffy-toys.de was released by the law firm acting as administrative contact for Tig Wolf, and transferred to Suran via a dispute entry on 25 March.[10]
  • TiGWolf claims to have not authorized this release himself, so it was done by the Law Firm appointed by TigWolf or his registrar as Administrative Contact with the power to do so.
  • As of 29 March, yiffy-toys.de is used by Suran.[11]

FetishZone[edit]

On the 21st April 2008, the shop YiffyToys.com was renamed to FetishZone.net. TigWolf still held the domain yiffytoys.com for a year afterwards.

References[edit]

  1. ↑ swollensheath.com Whois lookip
  2. ↑ Trademark file number 302008009407.9 - German Patent and Trade Mark Office (filed 13 March 2008)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 What are the different classes of goods and services? - Trademark FAQ, USPTO
  4. ↑ TARR status for mark application 77414408 - "YiffyToys" - "Dealerships in the field of adult sexual items" - United States Patent and Trademark Office (accessed 25 March 2008)
  5. ↑ 1003 Section 44(d) - Priority Filing Date Based on a Foreign Application - Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure, 4th ed. (April 2005)
  6. ↑ TARR status for mark application 77400748 - "Yiffy Toys" - "Adult sexual aids, namely, bondage, chasity devices, collars, dildos, furry gear, ludes (sic) and condoms, pony gear, puppy gear, vibes" - United States Patent and Trademark Office (accessed 25 March 2008)
  7. ↑ Suran's application is for a service mark - a website which sells adult toys - while Tig Wolf's is for a trademark on the goods themselves. WikiFur makes no claim over which of these (if any) is legally more appropriate, or whether or not the two classes necessarily conflict with one another if both are valid.
  8. ↑ declined mark-application 77400748
  9. ↑ WIPO UDRP-case D2009-0549
  10. ↑ Yiffy-toys.de - Suran, YiffyToys blog (in German; translation - 25 March 2008)
  11. ↑ yiffy-toys.de Whois information - DENIC
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