Keith Urban Sues Keith Urban Over KeithUrban.com
Australian country singer Keith Urban has filed a lawsuit against a US painter of the same name, claiming that the lesser known Keith Urban's website KeithUrban.com infringes trademark and cyber-squatting laws.
The Australian singer's own website is located at KeithUrban.net. He wants the other website to be shut down and its domain name transferred to his ownership. He also seeks unspecified monetary damages.
Keith Urban the painter uses his website to sell oil paintings, but the singer, who married Nicole Kidman last year and who is a former alcohol addict and cocaine abuser, says in the lawsuit that the website is being used "in a manner likely to deceive the public into believing that the website has a connection to Plaintiff that does not exist."
Below is a current screenshot from KeithUrban.com (the site hasn't changed much since April 2001):
So let's see. Keith Urban the painter doesn't claim that he is a singer. He doesn't claim that he is married to Nicole Kidman. He doesn't talk about alcohol abuse nor about "crawling around on my hands and knees, looking for these little rocks at five in the morning".
In fact, nothing at his website indicates that he is even aware of the singer's existence. And while his talent as an artist might be debatable, that applies even more so to his Australian counterpart.
The Daily Domainer can think of just one possible explanation for this hilarious and scatterbrained lawsuit: Keith Urban must be drinking again.
PS: There's a great discussion over at Digg about this incident.
Checking into some more whois info, I see that Keith the painter opened shop in 1999. Keith the singer didn't score his first commercial hit until 2002… and even then most people in the US didn't hear about him yet. It's an interesting case to follow.
I actually think that the artist should be the one with ownership, his name is keith urban isnt it?
Keith Urban (the "singer") is a tool. He actually changed his name from Keith Urbahn to what it is now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Urban
[...] Link to original [...]
[...] lesser known Keith Urban ’s website *KeithUrban.com* infringes trademark and cyber-squatting laws.read more | digg [...]
Too many Keith Urbans!
[...] read more | digg story [...]
It reminds me of Nissan.com - Nissan USA ( the car company ) wants it, but Mr. Nissan, who owns a computer company, already owns it. After several lawsuits, Nissan USA finally gave up ( as far as I know ) and decided to let it be. How can you be mad at someone for registering their own last name as a domain?
I am in COMPLETE AGREEMENT with KEITH URBAN THE SINGER.
I visited the site myself BEFORE Keith started sueing…and I have to say I thought the site belonged to the singer.
As did alot of other KU music fans i know….
ALSO the originator of this topic forgot to include the following:
Keith Urban Concert Tour
Check For Dates-Times-Seats & Buy Keith Urban Concert Tickets Here!
BuyTickets247.com/Keith-Urban
Keith Urban on MySpace
Keith's official MySpace page Exclusive content, contests & more!
http://www.myspace.com/keithurban
Keith Urban
Keith Urban Tickets. Front Row, Floor, Balcony, & more.
http://www.StubHub.com
Ads by Goooooogle Advertise on this site
…the above is on the top of the webpage
So YES I think the artist dude IS tryin to hone on The Musician Keith Urban Name !!!
Well…
Just 'cause the painter places AdSense on his site, and Google chooses to place the singers ads in that space doesn't mean he's intentionally trying to take advantage of the singer.
The singer has no right to claim trademark infringement on the artist.
The painter had the website (and the name) before the singer was even nationally known. I hope the singer loses his shirt on this one.
R
I saw somewhere that Keith Urban the painter also has a middle name.
Found this: Keith D. Urban the painter, I wonder what the D stands for???
Could be David??????????
I for one visited the painters site a couple of years ago…
and almost bought a painting BECAUSE I thought it was Mr.Keith Urban the Muscian
The painters website was misleading
Especially the way he phrased the following…
" For those of you who don't know…Oil painting is one of my hobbies"
Considering the painter is an UNKNOWN painter (and person for that matter)why would he phrase his words that way?
Even GOOGLE assumed it was the muscian
hence the KEITH URBAN Ticket sales it USED to advertise on top of the painters page.which now that the world knows the differance is no longer at the top of the page.
The self proclaimed painter was totally trying to take advantage of the MUSICIANS FAN BASE
Brenda Erickson: Are you kidding me? You have no control over what Google Adsense places on your site. AdSense does not have a human brain. It only looks at keywords and displays ads based on that. It can't tell the different between Keith Urban and Keith Urban. The Painter should sue the freaking singer for all this bad publicity.