It adheres to a policy thatif the host in a domain name is identical to another's registered trademark, then the registration of the domain name may be placed in abeyance until the dispute is resolved. Defendants also filed a complaint with the Internet registrar. The court may take judicial notice of the fact that a term is used commonly by the public. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 201, a fact may be judicially noticed when it is not subject to reasonable dispute. Plaintiff requests that the court take judicial notice of the fact that it is reasonably indisputable that the term CDs is used commonly to refer to compact disc products.
Defendants assert that a classic issue of fact exists and precludes taking judicial notice.
The motion to take judicial notice is denied. Neither actual confusion nor intent is necessary to a finding of likelihood of confusion. The confusion at issue here is any confusion that affects the purchasing decisions of actual or prospective purchasers of the services provided by defendants. Unlike a patent or copyright, a trademark does not confer on its owner any rights. There is no prohibition against the use of trademarks or service marks as domain names.