Reglikedomain industry desk

Pocketbook ebook firm gets pocketbook.com in settlement

Pocketbook ebook firm gets pocketbook.com in settlement

Ebook reader firm got what it wanted, but at what cost?

Image of Pocketbook eReader

Pocketbook International, a maker of ebook readers, has purchased the domain name pocketbook.com through a legal settlement.

The firm’s quest for the domain name began in 2019 when it filed a UDRP against the domain name, which was owned by SiteTools, Inc.

The panel denied the UDRP, in part since of the dictionary/generic nature of the term pocketbook. In fact, SiteTools was using it for a financial service, which is what you would probably expect it to be used for. SiteTools also had a trademark registration.

Pocketbook International sued SiteTools the next year, and SiteTools countersued.

SiteTools effectively won the legal battle. But when SiteTools went a step further and asked the court to award attorneys’ fees, Pocketbook International decided to appeal the case.

This pushed the parties into settlement talks.

Today, SiteTools informed the court (pdf) that it was withdrawing the request for attorneys’ fees since the case was settled.

Pocketbook.com now forwards to Pocketbook’s country-specific websites.

Although the settlement terms are private, I imagine Pocketbook International spent much more to get the domain than it would have had it just negotiated in good faith to get the domain at the beginning.

Also on the wire

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