Zak Muscovitch

Zak Muscovitch
Born (1971-08-05) August 5, 1971 (age 53)
CitizenshipCanadian
EducationBA and LLB
Alma materUniversity of Western Ontario and Osgoode Hall Law School[citation needed]
OccupationLawyer
Employer(s)DNattorney and Muscovitch Law Firm
Known forHis work in Canadian Domain Name law and as Founder of the Domain Name Law Reports

Zak Muscovitch (/ˈmʌskəvɪtʃ/ MUSS-kə-vitch[1]) is a Canadian intellectual property lawyer. He is the founder of Domain Name Law Reports and has represented clients before domain name arbitrations in cases against companies like Google, Torstar, and Molson.

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In 2000 he successfully defended the owners of the website Toronto2.com against Torstar and BellActimedia Inc, operators of the Toronto Star and its website Toronto.com, in the Federal Court of Canada.[2] He also represented clients against a Reichmann family owned business in a dispute over the overextension of the US Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act into Canada, arguing that it should not be in force when all litigants were Canadians.[3] In 2002 Muscovitch then successfully represented website developer Douglas Black against Molson after Molson claimed that it had exclusive rights in the domain name, Canadian.biz, as a result of its trademark in the Molson Canadian beer brand of beer.[4] Black v. Molson Canada was the first Canadian legal precedent to overturn a domain name arbitration in Canada.[5]

In 2009 Muscovitch successfully argued against Google on behalf of Groovle. At that point this was one of only two arbitrations lost by Google in its company history.[6] He has also been involved in defending and advising companies regarding ".ca" domain names, setting several legal precedents in Canadian domain and Internet law.[7] Since that case, Muscovitch has successfully represented two additional clients in domain name arbitration cases against Google, including Goggle.com and Oogle.com.[8]

In 2009 Muscovitch also represented Netego DotCom successfully against key companies belonging to billionaire Li Ka-shing before a World Intellectual Property Organization dispute adjudication panel, which resulted in the Panel declaring that this was a case of "Reverse Domain Name Hijacking".[9] Muscovitch has explained that almost all cases regarding major domain names, including those he works on, end up in alternative dispute resolution instead of the court system.[10]

Media and publishing

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He has been interviewed regarding technology, domain and Internet law cases of national interest.[11][12][13][14] Muscovitch was the founder and publisher of Domain Name Law Reports - a volunteer organization that helped lawyers research Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy and cases.[15] Muscovitch has also released several studies. In 2010 he published a study of the case distribution among the panelists at National Arbitration Forum. The results showed that there were deep inconsistencies in both the number of cases a panelist may hear, but also in terms of their likelihood to rule in favour of the complainant.[16] In 2012 he published a study that showed that there were seven panelists, out of the possible 136, that ruled on almost 50% of all decisions.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Zak Muscovitch Announcing Participation in DomainX™ 2015, Bangalore". YouTube. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  2. ^ Desmond Brown (June 14, 2000). "Federal judges sides with little guy in Web site dispute". National Post. p. A23.
  3. ^ Bill Rogers (November 3, 2000). "Profile: Zak Muscovitch". The Lawyers Weekly. p. 9.
  4. ^ Isabel Teotonio (July 19, 2002). "Canadian More than just a beer". Toronto Star.
  5. ^ R. Lynn Campbell. "JUDICIAL INVOLVEMENT IN DOMAIN NAME DISPUTES IN CANADA" (PDF). La Revue de droit de l'Université de Sherbrooke. p. 400. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  6. ^ Brian Gray (December 30, 2009). "Ont. Internet firm takes on Google - and wins". London Free Press. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  7. ^ "Germany's Biggest Domain Conference - DomainvermarkterForum - Is Coming Up Next Week in Munich + Zak Muscovitch Running for CIRA Board Seat". Domain Name Journal. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  8. ^ "Google loses dispute with oogle.com owner". Domain Name Wire. July 25, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  9. ^ "Companies Owned By One of World's Richest Men Found Guilty of Reverse Domain Hijacking". Domain Name Journal. August 7, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  10. ^ Christopher Guly (February 12, 2010). "Groovle beats Google in online ADR". The Lawyers Weekly. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  11. ^ Grant Buckler (November 9, 2010). "Canadian SMBs save big with hosted VoIP services". ITBusiness. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  12. ^ Omar El Akkad (April 26, 2010). "Scotiabank fails in bid to snag Caribana domain name". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  13. ^ "Online Gambling". CBC News. November 17, 2003. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  14. ^ "Who owns your Craigslist advert?". Intellectual Property Magazine. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
  15. ^ Anne P. Mintz (2002). Web of Deception: Misinformation on the Internet. Information Today. p. 210. ISBN 9780910965606.
  16. ^ "WIPO Panelist Study Sheds More Light on UDRP Practices". Domain Name Wire. April 26, 2010. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  17. ^ Michael Berkens (August 28, 2012). "New Study: Nearly 50% Of All UDRP Cases Decided By NAF Are Decided By 7 Panelists". The Domains. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
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