Indianapolis Motor Speedway's (IMS) pending lawsuits
against individuals using marks in cyberspace which IMS
claims are trademarked were examined by Josh Rubin in the
TORONTO STAR. At issue are Internet domain addresses such
as indcarracing.com, and "whether or not trademark rules
apply to Internet domain names." IMS Chief of Staff Ken
Ungar claimed the "apparent violations on the Internet were
an out-and-out provocation." Ungar: "The use of your image
and name effects people's perception of your product whether
it's a legitimate use or not. Whether its a T-shirt or book
or Internet site, the effect is still the same." Ontario's
Len Greene, who registered the indycarracing.com site on
February 17, said that IMS is "bullying" someone who's
rightfully using the name. Greene says he intended to use
the name as part of a "wider site," called Out of Doors,
where small companies can log on to the Internet "easily and
quickly." Greene says the reason he used the name
indycarracing for the auto portion was to differentiate it
from stock cars. The site is currently empty. Greene: "I
was planning to put all kinds of stuff up there - Formula
One and CART as well" (TORONTO STAR, 5/14).
