CNN v. Cnnews.com

Citation: Cable News Network v. Cnnews.com, 56 Fed. Appx. 599 (4th Cir. 2003).

A federal Court of Appeals has affirmed a District Court order transferring ownership of the domain name “cnnews.com” to Cable News Network. The order was issued in an in rem lawsuit filed by CNN in federal court in Virginia against a Chinese company that registered and used the domain name to operate a website for residents of China.

The case was brought by CNN under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act. In

response to CNN’s motion for summary judgment, District Judge T.S. Ellis found that he had jurisdiction to hear the case, even though the Chinese company had no contacts with the United States, because the domain name was registered in Virginia; and the judge held that the Chinese company’s use of “cnnews.com” was likely to cause confusion, and that the company had registered the mark in bad faith.

The Chinese company appealed, without success. In a short Per Curiam opinion that “was not selected for publication in the Federal Reporter,” the Court of Appeals affirmed Judge Ellis’ ruling, including his order transferring the domain name to CNN.