Robert M. Hertzberg
- Democratic
Author
Existing law makes it unlawful to, with bad faith intent, traffic in or use a domain name that is identical or confusingly similar to the personal name of another living person or deceased personality without regard to the goods or services of the parties, except if the name is connected to a work of authorship. Existing law authorizes a court to consider specified factors in making a finding regarding bad faith intent, including that it was the intent of the person using the name to divert consumers from the person's or deceased personality's online location to a site that could harm the goodwill of that person or to tarnish or disparage that person. This bill would, instead, make it unlawful for a person, with bad faith intent, to register, traffic in, or use a domain name or subdomain name that is identical or confusingly similar to either the personal name of another living person or deceased personality without regard to goods or services or the name of a specified entity for the purpose of selling or reselling goods, as defined. The bill would provide that confusingly similar includes a misspelling of the domain or subdomain name. The bill would provide that this prohibition does not apply if the name is used with the consent of that specified entity or an authorized representative of that entity, and would create a presumption affecting the burden of proof that a person acted with bad faith intent if the entity or authorized representative did not consent to the registration, trafficking, or use of the domain or subdomain name. The bill would authorize a court to consider as a factor in making a finding regarding bad faith intent that a person intended to divert consumers from the online location of a specified entity to a site accessible under the domain name that could harm the goodwill represented by that entity's name either for commercial gain or with the intent to tarnish or disparage the entity by creating a likelihood of confusion as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of the site. The bill would create a private right of action for violation of these provisions and would provide that a remedy obtained for a violation of these provisions is cumulative with other available remedies.
Approved by the Governor.
Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 162, Statutes of 2020.
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 1 p.m.
Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 30. Noes 0. Page 4349.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 71. Noes 0. Page 5200.) Ordered to the Senate.
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (August 20).
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
August 30 hearing postponed by committee.
August 21 set for first hearing. Placed on APPR. suspense file.
Joint Rule 62(a) suspended.
Re-referred to Com. on APPR. pursuant to Assembly Rule 97.
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (July 9).
July 2 hearing postponed by committee.
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 25). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 1201.) Ordered to the Assembly.
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 1097.) (May 16).
Set for hearing May 16.
May 13 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
Set for hearing May 13.
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 0. Page 906.) (April 30).
Set for hearing April 30.
From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 22.
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
| Bill Text Versions | Format |
|---|---|
| SB342 | HTML |
| 02/19/19 - Introduced | |
| 03/27/19 - Amended Senate | |
| 05/06/19 - Amended Senate | |
| 05/17/19 - Amended Senate | |
| 07/11/19 - Amended Assembly | |
| 01/13/20 - Amended Assembly | |
| 08/28/20 - Enrolled | |
| 09/25/20 - Chaptered |
| Document | Format |
|---|---|
| No related documents. |
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