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Freeman scores cybersquat knockout

Leslie Katz Former Culture Editor
Leslie Katz led a team that explored the intersection of tech and culture, plus all manner of awe-inspiring science, from space to AI and archaeology. When she's not smithing words, she's probably playing online word games, tending to her garden or referring to herself in the third person.
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  • Third place film critic, 2021 LA Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards
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Leslie Katz
Morgan Freeman
It's been a winning year for actor . First he nabbed a best supporting actor Oscar for his performance in "Million Dollar Baby." Now he's triumphed in a cybersquatting battle over the Internet domain name www.morganfreeman.com.
Morgan Freeman

Freeman, 67, complained that the name--registered by the company Mighty LLC--was being used to divert Internet traffic to a commercial search engine, according to the BBC News and other sources.

On Tuesday, independent arbitrator Peter Nitter backed the actor, ruling that Mighty LLC, in a "bad faith" move, misused Freeman's trademark to lure surfers to its website.

The ruling was announced by the World Intellectual Property Organization, or WIPO, a U.N. agency that promotes the protection of trademarks and patents.

Freeman, whose illustrious career spans four decades, joins the ranks of entertainers including Julia Roberts, Spike Lee, Madonna, Nicole Kidman and Eminem who have kicked cybersquatters off their namesake domains under WIPO procedure.