SO FLY – EPSTEIN DRANGEL KNOCKS TWO COUNTERFEIT BIRDS OFF THE WEB WITH ONE UDRP

Epstein Drangel received a favorable decision from the National Arbitration Forum today in Rovio Entertainment Ltd. v. Liyanghua / yanghua li / angrybirdsite, FA1304001495026 (Nat. Arb. Forum, June 18, 2013), ordering that the domain names angrybirdsmart.com and angrybirdsite.com be transferred to Rovio.

On the preliminary issue of multiple Respondents, although the WHOIS information reflected that the registrant for angrybirdsmart.com was different from the registrant for angrybirdsite.com, the Forum Panel accepted the argument that the domains were commonly owned and controlled by the same entity given that the evidence submitted by Complainant’s counsel proved that that: both websites originate in China and were selling counterfeit ANGRY BIRDS products, that until recently, both websites were identical in look feel and content, that both domains were hosted on the same web server, that the registrar for both domains was BIZCN.com, Inc., and that the banner that appears on angrybirdsite.com reading “Angry Birds Mart” is identical to the one that appeared on angrybirdsmart.com.