World Wildlife Fund Smacks Down WWF

World Wildlife Federation Smacks Down the WWF

Conservation group, pro wrestlers battle over trademark rights

LONDON, Nov 2, 2000-- I typed in the initials "WWF" in a commonly used search engine. The search had over 3400 listing for auction memorabilia and over 1200 listings for online shopping. The majority or which belonged to the World Wrestling Federation. Sporadically mentioned through titles such as "Raw is War," "Smack Down" and "Can you smell what the Rock is cooking," there was the World Wide Fund for Nature.

The World Wide Fund for Nature, best known for its efforts to protect the panda and other endangered animal species, has initiated a Royal Rumble with the World Wrestling Federation over the use of the initials WWF. The Federation, which uses www.wwf.com as its Web site address and inscribes the initials on hundreds of branded products, denies any wrongdoing.

The fund accuses the World Wrestling Federation of breaking an agreement the two sides reached in 1994 over the use of the logo and trademark. It has filed a lawsuit in London seeking legal enforcement of what it insists are trademark rights. According to the Associated Press, a Fund spokeswoman said "The explosion in Web use and satellite and cable television means their use of the WWF logo is more widespread than it was." "It's a long-running tussle. We felt that this was the correct time to take it up."

This issue of domain names and trademarks is one of the most hotly-contested in the world of intellectual property [click here for more]. The key point is likelihood of confusion between wwf.com and wwf.org. An attorney for the Wrestling Federation, said the 1994 agreement allowed both organizations to use the WWF initials and to operate in "peaceful coexistence." He said, "The agreement never addressed the use of the initials on the Internet." "Nothing in the agreement ever dealt with the Internet because the Internet wasn't anything back then."

The fund predates the federation, and it registered its black and white panda a logo with the letters "WWF" when it was founded in 1961. The fund changed its name 14years ago, adding to the confusion. In the United States, it is still known by its original name, the World Wildlife Fund, which has the rights to the web address, www.wwf.org. Elsewhere, it goes by World Wide Fund for nature. The fund argues that recognition of its initials is part of what makes it effective as an international charity. The fund, headquartered in Gland, Switzerland, filed a lawsuit in April.

The Wildlife Federation's attorney said, " It would be the same as if McDonalds? were challenging someone over the use of the golden arches." Counsel for the Wrestling Federation countered with; There is little chance anyone would confuse the two organizations. If the wrestling federation were forced to change its wwf.com web address, he said, it would cause massive confusion. "All these millions and millions of fans, if the environmental group had its way--would type in wwf.com, and instead of seeing everything they've seen for years--are going to be directed to their site about panda bears and whatever they're doing to save the world." With a verdict possibly a year away, perhaps a commentator and a referee is needed.

Marcus Leazer