back to article Compare the Market loses .XXX smut-squat appeal

Meerkat-obsessed Compare the Market, which became the first company to lose a cybersquatting complaint over a .xxx domain name, has lost its appeal against the ruling. BGL Group, which owns the Compare The Market brand, lost its first case against the owner of comparethemarket.xxx in May, after a Czech Arbitration Court (CAC) …

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  1. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

    Oops!

    There goes their business plan for diversification into meerkat porn...

    1. Aaron Em
      Coat

      Re: Oops!

      Perhaps they'll simply have to compare the meerkat, instead.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oxymoron?

    "universally famous in the UK"

    1. Martin Huizing
      Facepalm

      Re: Oxymoron?

      Why not! America has got the 'World Series'...

  3. LinkOfHyrule
    Joke

    BGL Group, you're discriminating....

    ...against people with an unusual fetish for town centre market places! Yes it may be rare, even less common than that thing that German bird who married the Berlin wall (and then had an affair with a wooden fence) had, but that is no excuses guys!

    That dude who owns comparethemarket.xxx is probably setting up a porno site for people with this fetish who want to do comparisons to see which market they find most attractive! It saves on train fares/petrol for those afflicted and eliminates the obvious embarrassment factor of being overwhelmed with lust in a public place! (Remember folks, google streetview doesn't often show pedestrianised streets and therefore lacks detailed pics of most British markets!) People with this particular sexual preference probably feel like they are being targeted and may want to sue for human rights abuses! I suggest they organise a Marketphilia awareness day and a Facebook campaign!

  4. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Aaron Em

      Re: WHAT!

      I've only rarely seen a cat even slightly meek. Usually when they've done something you don't like they either don't give a damn you're upset about it, or they smirk at you.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Czech Arbitration Court?

    Can anyone explain the role and composition of thIs CAC group?

    1. Aaron Em
      Coat

      CAC has a simple purpose

      They deal with the shit nobody else wants to.

    2. toansweryourquestion

      Re: Czech Arbitration Court?

      CAC is one of five organizations authorized by ICANN to administer UDRP proceedings. Its panelists are usually IP lawyers, not usually from the Czech Republic -- Rodenbaugh is American. It has a bit of a reputation for being cheaper than, say, WIPO, and (anecdotally) often more likely to side with complainants.

  6. John H Woods Silver badge
    Unhappy

    WHAT!

    I thought it was a REAL meerkat. Thanks a lot for spoiling that for me.

  7. dotdavid
    Coat

    Personally

    I think those CompareTheMeerkat people should be sued, they're blatantly ripping off CompareTheMarket.

    1. Tel Starr

      CompareTheMeerkat.XXX

      Now that would be a site i'd avoid.

      1. Lockwood
        Paris Hilton

        Re: CompareTheMeerkat.XXX

        There's a site I'd be going straight to!

  8. ukgnome

    So will the xxx site compare merkins?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Got there before me,

      with a sign-off "Nippleszs!"

  9. regadpellagru
    Joke

    Mad

    "But BGL, which owns a trademark on the phrase "Compare the Market", ..."

    /me rush to trademark the word "Market".

  10. Tom 13

    WTF?!?! The UK let them trademark that phrase?

    I thought your legal system was a bit more advanced than ours on this point.

    1. wowfood

      Re: WTF?!?! The UK let them trademark that phrase?

      You give us far too much credit. Althoguh I think it's actually only trademarked as a business name. Not as the actual phrase itself.

      1. kissingthecarpet
        Facepalm

        Re: WTF?!?! The UK let them trademark that phrase?

        Why do people seem to believe that you can trademark a "phrase" outside of business name usage? I imagine that you can probably do that in the US, where companies are human,& civilians are allowed to shoot unarmed men but no country with a half-sane legal system would entertain such a silly idea.

    2. DavCrav

      Re: WTF?!?! The UK let them trademark that phrase?

      "The UK let them trademark that phrase? "

      Yes. In the UK, no other market comparison company can call themselves Compare the Market. That's what trademark means. Is that not reasonable?

    3. Colin Brett
      Terminator

      Re: WTF?!?! The UK let them trademark that phrase?

      I'll probably get sued for this but ...

      Games Workshop have a TM superscript mark on the tagline "In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war."

      I don't know if our legal system was more advanced than yours but we seem to be catching up in the race to the bottom.

      Colin

      ROTM icon because it looks like a Necron.

      1. chris lively
        Thumb Up

        Re: WTF?!?! The UK let them trademark that phrase?

        The ][nquisition would like a word with you.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sergei....

    ..... just wanted job with dignity.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Article sounds like it came from my local newspaper

    As they would also point out that the dispute resolution was handled by the Czechs without explaining what got the Czechs involved in the first place.

    I'm sorry if it's not obvious to me, but I have no clue who or what "compare the market" are, and neither do I keep abreast (urgh!) of what happens in the .xxx domain.

  13. Graham Marsden
    Holmes

    And so...

    ... it seems that, as expected, the only winners from the .xxx domain sell off are Icann and the lawyers.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Umm....

    27 - 25 = 2 ?

    So this one is not "unique"...

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