Ryan Kavanaugh files cybersquatting case against YouTuber — Film financier

Kavanaugh wants to take down Klein’s derogatory website.

Film financier Ryan Kavanaugh has filed a cybersquatting challenge under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) to try to get the site doesryankavanaughlooklikeharveyweinstein.com taken down.

Kavanaugh is embroiled in a fight with the site’s creator, YouTuber Ethan Klein.

The site compares Kavanaugh’s looks to those of Weinstein and discusses some of Kavanaugh’s history, counting DUI charges.

Following suing Klein, Kavanaugh told his side of the story in a post last November. Klein tells his side of the story in a statement on the website in question.

I suspect this UDRP at World Intellectual Property Organization will be denied for a number of reasons.

UDRP panels tend to defer to free speech when cases involve people or firms in the U.S. I doubt a panel would find this confusingly similar, given that it’s clearly an attack domain (similar to a “sucks” domain). Finally, UDRP panels often decline to decide disputes involving ongoing court cases.

The dispute reminds me of a case Glenn Beck lost in 2009.