Organizing For Action Hijacked - Forgot To Register Domains! - Granite Grok

Organizing For Action Hijacked – Forgot To Register Domains!

Ooops! OrganizingForAmerica.net pwned by a friend of the NRA
Ooops! OrganizingForAction.net got ‘pwned’ by a friend of the NRA
Warner Todd Huston, of the Axis of Fedoras, reported today over at Breitbart’s Big Government, that the Obama team was getting sloppy in its old age.

You see, when you change names as often as leftists have to do, it is essential to secure trademarks, copyrights, AND domain names for the new name BEFORE announcing the shiny new organization.

And so, it came to pass, that when “Organizing for America”, Obama’s re-election vehicle, had outlived its usefulness, and needed to be replaced by Fascist-sounding “Organizing for Action“, some entrepeneurial types grabbed the domain names before Obama’s minions woke up to the necessity.

Facepalm time, and no doubt, somewhere in a back room, the beatings will continue until morale improves, because it is rumored that the ‘Dear Leader’ is not amused, indeed, he is FURIOUS.

Why? Because the most valuable domain extensions are taken – .com and .org by Michael Deutsch, an MIT alumnus, of Wellington, Florida, who has posted a notice, at those addresses which includes the words:

The website OrganizingForAction.org is NOT affiliated with any 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), or other entity or business that uses the generic phrase Organizing For Action as all or a portion of its name.

But the best part is that OrganizingForAction.net is owned by Derek Bovard, of Castle Rock, Colorado, who has set up his site to go directly to Hell……. well, actually directly to the NRA’s main page, which is pretty close to Hell for liberals!

There is a practice known as “CyberSquatting” whereby an entrepreneur tries to pick up on a trend, or take advantage of sloppy practices by famous brands to register a domain that they might want (or want to keep off the market), like “ConcordMonitor-sucks.com”. For a simple example of this, try to buy NHDP.com (the opposition party uses NHDP.org) – you will find that some entrepreneur has it locked away for an asking price of $10k, in the hope that Buckles will bite, rather than risk mischief with his brand.

From the Breitbart Article, Derek Bovard said:

[H]e intends to use the site address to provide “information on the United States Constitution and Conservative values.”

“This site is going to be used strictly to discuss political views and ideas based on Conservative Values, the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights and Freedom of Speech in the USA which seems to be overlooked quite often. My partner and I are firm believers in not only the First and Second Amendment Rights, but in ALL Rights granted to us by our country, my country.”

Bovard also disputed several reports that he offered the address for sale to team Obama:

“I also want to make it perfectly clear that I have no intentions of selling this website name to Obama’s group nor did I purchase it with the intent of selling it to them or anyone else. It’s never been for sale, I’ve never solicited it for sale. I have indicated a personal opinion about it’s worth but that’s it.”

“We have taken what little action we could to contribute to the fight against anyone who attempts to defy or go against the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the rights contained within them. We are sickened by the mockery being made of our country and our government and then advertising this mess to our fellow citizens and the rest of the world,” Bovard said in an email.

In other words, he claims not to be cybersquatting, but rather using the web address to disseminate conservative ideas – how refreshing! Indeed, Bovard told Breitbart that he feels he has a solid case that he owns the .net address fair, square, and legally. He also states:

“We have been granted ‘Service Mark’ #85838531 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the website as ‘Providing an on-line website featuring information on the United States Constitution and Conservative values’ and we were also the first to use it in ‘commerce.’ So I don’t believe they have any valid legal ground to stand on in regards to this website name. Before purchasing this site I had checked TESS (Trademark Electronic Search System) for any existing Trademarks or Service Marks and found none. I also searched for any existing companies called Organizing for Action and found none. So I bought it, legally.”

Having the domains locked up was bad enough, but having OrganizingForAction.net redirected to the NRA, and owned by an obvious conservative is more than Obama can take – apparently team Obama has launched actions against Derek Bovard ‘and others’, which we take to include Michael Deutsch and his ISP. The Breitbart article continues:

Obama’s group filed the complaints with the authority that governs website domain addresses, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The complaints were filed under Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) rules. Obama’s case number is 1483257 and was filed on Feb 6. UDRP cases are usually decided within one to two months after first filing.

However, as we noted above, Bovard, at least, seems to have his case well prepared, and we pray that Obama’s minions do not have an easy time trying to wrest the domain away from him. Well Done, Sir!

H/T Joe Miller’s Restoring Liberty.

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