Seed IP, representing Red Robin International, Inc., has blocked an Internet domain name scam in the first case of its kind under new Canadian Internet policies. "Somebody tried to sell our client something very valuable that they already owned," said Kevin Costanza, Seed IP senior attorney who handled the case. "We were the first to use the new Canadian rules to protect our client's trademark, prevent any confusion the bogus domain might have created and to keep others from pulling similar scams."

The case started when a British Columbia man registered the name "redrobin.ca" as a Canadian Internet domain. Red Robin, with 192 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, sought assistance from Seed IP because of the Seattle firm's expertise in trademark and domain name issues.

In the first decision ever using a new Canadian Internet Registration Authority Dispute Resolution Policy, Red Robin was awarded the improperly registered domain name.

"This was clearly a case of attempting to create an Internet domain virtually identical to a company's registered trademark," Costanza said. "What was especially egregious was trying to then sell the bogus domain name to Red Robin, and threatening to sell it to someone else unless Red Robin agreed."

Queen's Counsel J. E. Redmond, who considered the case for the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, ruled that the domain name was registered in bad faith, that it could be confused with Red Robin's trademark, and should be transferred to Red Robin.

Costanza said this case establishes a good precedent by addressing a burgeoning bad practice - the hijacking of highly valuable registered trademarks by scam artists who demand payment from the trademark holder to prevent their use as bogus internet domain names.