The controversy around the use of trademarked Olympic-related words grew this week with a 74-year-old widow making
headlines and a German internet entrepreneur vowing to ignore court rulings that go in favour of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC).
On Monday (Nov. 22) VANOC convinced a 小蓝视频 Supreme Court justice to issue an injunction that will prevent Ingrid Homberg and her son Nikolaus from transferring ownership of the domain name www.whistler-olympic.com. The Hombergs claim that they don't legally own the domain name. An acquaintance of theirs named Michael Lederer of Frankfurt, Germany backs their claim by indicating that he owns the web address.
VANOC is pursuing the Hombergs because there is information published to the internet indicating the Hombergs are still affiliated with whistler-olympic.com through their Brackendale-based company called Algino Holdings Ltd. According to the information obtained by VANOC, the e-mail address associated with the domain name belongs to Lederer.
Nikolaus Homberg, a lawyer, says the information published to the internet is out of date and he doesn't expect it to be updated for a few more weeks.
Sam Corea of VANOC reported that another hearing on the injunction issue is set for Dec. 16 when the judge will hear further submissions.
"It is on this transfer and not on the main case," said Corea. "No date is set for that. The main case is the original lawsuit on the unauthorized use of the domain name."
In the meantime, an interim injunction was put in place that prohibits the defendants from transferring ownership of the domain name.
Homberg told The Chief that the three lawyers representing VANOC in court on Monday are going after the wrong people because his mother and the group of investors she was working with sold the domain name before VANOC filed its lawsuit. "The group sold the domain name on Oct. 30 because we assumed that VANOC wasn't interested," he said.
He believes he was victorious in court on Monday because the judge granted Homberg more time to put together his arguments.
"I can guarantee that VANOC didn't get what they wanted from this lawsuit on Monday," Homberg said.
In an e-mail message from Lederer to The Chief, Lederer claims that he initially reserved the web domain name at the centre of the controversy for the Hombergs. Up until Nov. 16 or so the Hombergs were using the site as one marketing tools to sell their home at 8317 Valley Drive in Whistler's Alpine Meadows for $1,128,000. The home was also advertised in the Whistler Question and The Chief. The classified advertising in the local newspapers included the web address and an e-mail address until Sept. 16 when the internet information was removed from the newspaper advertising. The classified advertising was halted after the home was rented earlier this month.
"The plan after selling or renting the [real estate] that I buy the domain, which I have done a couple of weeks ago, and now use it for my own business," Lederer wrote.
Lederer said that VANOC offered to buy the domain name for $10. He felt that the offer was too low and that VANOC did not ask for the domain name in a friendly manner. He now plans to press ahead with his plans for the site. He says that he will use the site to offer mobile phone users downloadable sports pictures, wallpapers and short sports movies that can be stored in the memory of wireless phones.
"No court in the world can stop me with my plans," Lederer said by e-mail.
VANOC is taking the action against the Hombergs and others using trademarked words and logos as part of its obligation to protect the Olympic brand.
"Our business is organizing the Games," said John Furlong, chief executive officer of VANOC in a statement released after legal papers were initially filed against the Hombergs. "We owe to it all Canadians to do our job properly to create conditions that will result in success for Canada's Games in 2010. Any surplus funds generated by VANOC in its Games organizing efforts will be devoted to the development of amateur sport in Canada. That's the goal we all want to achieve."
According to VANOC, the lawsuit was launched after Nikolaus Homberg indicated that he represented "a group of international businesses and investors". A VANOC news release says that Homberg refused to agree to VANOC's requests to stop using the Olympic brand while Homberg argues that he was prepared to turn over the domain name but he didn't hear anything from VANOC between Aug. 30 and Oct. 30 so Homberg said the investors concluded that VANOC was no longer interested in taking over the domain name.
Homberg said he will file a statement of defense against the original writ and he will be in court on Dec. 16 to continue his arguments regarding the injunction that VANOC was granted.
"This lawsuit is an outrage and a slander," he said.
