The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has ruled in favor of Cybernet Entertainment, the operator of Kink.com, in a trademark infringement case against a website using a confusingly similar domain name.
The ruling, issued by a WIPO administrative panel, mandates the transfer of the domain thebdsmkink.com to Cybernet Entertainment. The complaint, filed in August by Cybernet Entertainment, alleged that the disputed domain traded on Kink.com’s reputation by offering comparable BDSM products, displaying the Kink graphic logo, and duplicating content from legitimate Kink websites.
Case Details and Infringement
Cybernet Entertainment, which operates Kink.com and Kinkstore.com, initiated the complaint with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. The WIPO administrative panel’s ruling identified a U.S. registrant, listed as “karsony karsony,” as the party behind the infringing domain name, thebdsmkink.com.
The impersonating site, registered in March, was found to be using a domain name "confusingly similar" to Kink.com. The site not only offered BDSM products comparable to those available on Kink sites under its trademark but also displayed the Kink graphic logo. Furthermore, the site duplicated the "About Us" section from Kink’s legitimate websites.
Cybernet Entertainment’s complaint detailed that the copycat site displayed "product imagery, product descriptions, product presentation, corporate-history information and audiovisual materials" that were copied from Kink’s official online presence. The WIPO review concluded that the respondent registered the disputed domain name in bad faith "to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users by creating a likelihood of confusion with Complainant’s mark." The registrant did not respond to WIPO inquiries during the investigation.
Cybernet Entertainment and Kink.com Background
Kink.com is an independent San Francisco-based internet pornography company specializing in BDSM and related fetishes. It operates a group of websites, with Kink.com, Kink Studios, LLC, Hogtied.com, and Behindkink.com all operating as DBAs for Cybernet Entertainment LLC, the parent company.
The company was founded in 1997 by Peter Acworth. Acworth started the site, initially named Hogtied.com, while he was a doctoral candidate in finance at Columbia University. His interest in bondage led him to orient the site toward BDSM pornography. Initially, the site featured licensed content, but Acworth began producing his own material as sales leveled off due to other sites using the same content. In 1998, Acworth moved the company from New York City to San Francisco.
In March 2018, Acworth transitioned away from day-to-day operations to focus on real estate development and management. Alison Boden, the former VP of Technology, became the CEO. Acworth returned to the company in 2021.
Cybernet Entertainment has previously been involved in trademark disputes. In 2017, a U.S. District Court Judge Donna Ryu denied Kink’s Motion for Summary Judgment in a case against Balance Studio, which owned the trademark to Kink Academy. Kink University, a part of Kink.com, began operating in 2014. The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) had rejected Kink University’s trademark application due to a "likelihood of consumer confusion between 'Kink University' and Plaintiff’s Kink Academy word and logo mark." The USPTO found similarities, noting that "the terms UNIVERSITY and ACADEMY, each coupled with the dominant component KINK, convey the" same impression.
Key Facts
- WIPO ruled in favor of Kink.com operator Cybernet Entertainment in a trademark infringement case.
- The disputed domain, thebdsmkink.com, was ordered to be transferred to Cybernet Entertainment.
- The infringing site used a "confusingly similar" domain, displayed the Kink graphic logo, and duplicated content from Kink.com.
- The U.S. registrant for the infringing domain was listed as “karsony karsony.”
- Cybernet Entertainment operates Kink.com and Kinkstore.com, among other sites.
- Kink.com was founded in 1997 by Peter Acworth and is based in San Francisco.
