INTERNATIONAL DOMAIN NAME AND WEBSITE LAW

Zak Muscovitch is recognized world-wide as a leader in this field. He appears before the Superior Court of Justice, the Federal Court, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the National Arbitration Forum (NAF), the British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre (BCICAC), and Resolution Canada in Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) and Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Zak was lead counsel in numerous precedent-setting court cases such as the Toronto.com case (2000), wherein he successfully defended against the first attempt in Federal Court to obtain an interlocutory injunction against a domain name registrant. Zak was defence counsel in the Sweetsuccess.com case (2001), the first decision to establish the convenient forum for international domain name disputes involving a Canadian domain name registrar. Zak was instructing counsel for the registrant of the defendant domain name in the Technodome.com case (2002), which was the first in rem decision under the United States Anti-cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. Zak was counsel in the first Canadian court case overturning an ICANN UDRP commenced by Molson in the Canadian.biz case (2002). Zak was lead counsel in the CheapTickets.ca case (2008), wherein he defended a descriptive domain name by successfully obtaining the cancelation of a plaintiff's trademark for "Cheap Tickets" in a proceeding which went all the way to the Federal Court of Appeal.

Zak has represented clients from all over the world, in countries such as China, England, Australia, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, Poland, Belgium, South Africa, Korea, and Canada, in numerous ICANN UDRP domain name disputes. Among many notable decisions, Zak represented the registrant of Shoes.Biz in the first ".biz" Reverse Domain Name Hijacking case (2002). Zak represented the registrant in the first ever successful defence of a CIRA Complaint over the domain name, Cheaptickets.ca (2003). Zak represented the registrant in the first CIRA Reverse Domain Name Hijacking finding and costs order in the Forsale.ca case (2009). Zak represented the respondent in the first case of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking in an IDN (Chinese language) domain name dispute over (LongRiver.com), a complaint brought by Hong Kong billionaire Le Ka Shing to the ADNDRC and then at WIPO. Zak has succeeded in winning cases against some of the largest corporations in the world, including Google, three times, such as in the Groovle.com case.

In addition to Domain Name recover and domain name disputes, The Muscovitch Law Firm has represented numerous buyers and sellers of domain names and websites, with values ranging from several thousand dollars, to over ten million. The Muscovitch Law Firm represents website owners involved in many Internet related industries, such as online advertising, online marketing, ecommerce, website development, online education, online brokerages and escrow services, and online real estate services. The Muscovitch Law Firm has expertise in structuring transactions for online businesses involving venture capital and fundraising, crowdsourcing, joint ventures, partnerships, and for corporations large and small.

FIRM PROFILE

• Canada's foremost specialized Internet domain name law firm, representing clients from all over the world.

• Twelve years of practicing domain name law with hundreds of important domain name disputes handled since 1999.
  

• Established record of success in numerous precedent setting domain name cases before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Federal Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada, the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the National Arbitration Forum, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, and the Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre.
  

• Recognized as an expert in domain name litigation by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Justice Wright, 2002).
  

• Consultant to the Canadian Internet Registration Authority on the drafting and implementation of the revised Canadian Domain Name (.CA) Dispute Resolution Policy (2011).
  

• Frequently consulted by the national and international media on domain name and Internet legal issues.
  

• Represents both start-ups and established companies in a wide variety of industries with mainly technology and Internet-related clients in the following fields: Internet Advertising and Marketing, Internet Affiliate Marketing, Pay-Per-Click Advertising, Online Publishing, Web Site Development, Search Engine Optimization, Domain Name Monetization, Domain Name Investment, Online Retailing, Online Community Development, Software Development, Internet Gaming, Web Hosting, Wireless Applications, Internet-based Travel Services, and Multimedia Development.
  

PRINCIPAL'S PROFILE

Zak Muscovitch - Principal of the Muscovitch Law Firm

• Called to the Bar of the Province of Ontario, Canada in 1999. Licensed by the Law Society of Upper Canada to practise law in the Province of Ontario (Membership No. 41740O)
  

• Juris Doctor, Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1997)

• Bachelor of Arts, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada (1993)
  

NOTABLE SCHOLARLY ARTICLES:

• "Taxation of Internet Commerce" (First Monday, 1996)
• "A Guide to ICANN Procedure and Policy", Internet and E-Commerce Law in Canada (2000)
• "The .CA Registry (CIRA) and "Public Interest" (Domain Name News, 2010)
• "Why I support Canadian Presence Requirements for .CA Domain Names" (Circle ID, 2010)
• "Cyberquatting Ain't What it Used to be" by Zak Muscovitch (Intellectual Property Magazine, May 2012)
• "Who Owns Your Craigslist Advert" by Zak Muscovitch (Intellectual Property Magazine, October, 2012)

MEMBERSHIPS:

• Law Society of Upper Canada
• Canadian IT Law Association
• Toronto Computer Lawyers Group
• Internet Bar Organization

NOTABLE CASES:

• Counsel in Toronto.com v. Sinclair (c.o.b. Friendship Enterprises) (2000), 6 C.P.R. (4th) 487 (Fed. Ct.); successfully defended against the first attempt in Federal Court to obtain an interlocutory injunction against a domain name registrant
  

• Counsel in Easthaven, Ltd. v. Nutrisystem.com Inc. (2001), 55 O.R. (3d) 334, 202 D.L.R. (4th) 560, 14 C.P.R. (4th) 22 (Ont. Sup. Ct.), the first decision to establish the convenient forum for international domain name disputes involving a Canadian domain name registrar
  

• Instructing counsel for the registrant of the defendant domain name in Heathmount A.E. Corp. v. Technodome.com, 106 F. Supp. 2d 860 (E.D. Va. 2000) (plaintiff's motion for service), Case No. CA-00-00714-A (E.D. Va. Dec. 27, 2000) (defendant's motion to dismiss), 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 475 (4th Cir. Jan. 10, 2002) (defendant's interlocutory appeal), which was the first in rem decision under the U.S. Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act
  

• Counsel in the first Canadian court case overturning an Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy ("UDRP") decision in Black v. Molson (2002) 60 O.R. (3d) 457, 21 C.P.R. (4th) 52
  

• Counsel in Cheaptickets and Travel Inc. v. Emall.ca Inc., (2007) 56 C.P.R. (4th) 81, 311 F.T.R. 295 and in Emall.ca Inc. v. Cheap Tickets and Travel Inc., 2008 FCA 50, 68 C.P.R. (4th) 381, wherein CheapTickets.ca successfully obtained the cancelation of the a trademark for "Cheap Tickets" in a proceeding which went all the way to the Federal Court of Appeal. The CheapTickets.ca case also involved the first successful defense of a .CA domain name under the CDRP in Cheap Tickets and Travel Inc. v. Emall.ca Inc. (CIRA Dispute No. 0004, January 31, 2003)
  

• Counsel in Globe Media International Corporation v. Bonfire Development Ltd.; obtained the first and only to-date, CDRP Panel Order for costs payable for Reverse Domain Name Hijacking.
  

• Represented clients from all over the world, in countries such as China, England, Australia, the United States, Brazil, Turkey, Belgium, China, Sri Lanka, India, South Africa, Korea, and Poland, in dozens of ICANN UDRP proceedings
  

• Counsel in Shoes.Biz; the first ".biz" Reverse Domain Name Hijacking case (2002)

• Counsel in the first case of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking in an International Domain Name (Chinese language) dispute over .com (LongRiver.com)
  

• Successfully defended Groovle.com in a UDRP case brought by Google at WIPO

• Successfully obtained Vagalume.com from a cybersquatter on behalf of a major Brazilian online business in a UDRP proceeding at the NAF