TOSHIBA WINS ARBITRATION AGAINST SELAVY MEDIA FOR BAD FAITH REGISTRATION AND USE OF “TOSHIBATONER.COM” DOMAIN NAME
National Arbitration Forum Determines Selavy Media Has No Legitimate Interests to Use “Toshibatoner.com” Domain Name
IRVINE , California ( Nov 21, 2006 ) :
In the first of a series of battles to protect authorized Toshiba dealers business interests, Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. (TABS) is pleased to announce that Toshiba Corporation won the arbitration against Selavy Media for bad faith registration and use of the “toshibatoner.com” domain name. Toshiba Corporation filed the complaint with the National Arbitration Forum in August 2006, arguing that Selavy Media did not have any right or legitimate interest in the “toshibatoner.com” domain name, and that the name was confusingly similar to the TOSHIBA trademark. Having won the arbitration, Toshiba Corporation has been granted full rights and usage of the “toshibatoner.com” domain.
“Toshiba Corporation has a zero-tolerance policy for the illegal use of its corporate identity, including as it relates to deceptive, misleading Internet business practices,” said Tom Walter, director Aftermarket Sales, Marketing & Operations for TABS. “With more cases on the docket for 2006 and 2007, we’re mustering the resources to aggressively police this type of piracy, in order to protect the business interests of our loyal, authorized Toshiba dealers.”
Selavy Media was profiting from the goodwill associated with the Toshiba name by operating a non bona fide pay-per-click Web site under the “toshibatoner.com” Internet domain. The confusing and misleading site redirected consumers to Toshiba competitor sites in the print cartridge industry, which in turn disrupted authorized Toshiba dealer business practices.
About Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc.
Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc. (TABS) manages product planning, marketing, sales, service support and distribution of copiers, facsimiles, multifunction printing products, network controllers, and toner products throughout the United States, Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TABS has four divisions: the Electronic Imaging Division; the Toner Products Division; the Document Solutions Engineering Division; and TOPAC U.S.A., Inc., dba Toshiba Business Solutions (TBS), a wholly-owned subsidiary corporation of TABS, that operates a network of wholly owned office equipment dealers throughout the United States.
Named the most favored manufacturer seven times by the Business Technology Association (BTA), Toshiba’s entire product line, customer support and marketing distribution policies are markers for the industry. Among the many other awards garnered in recent years, Toshiba was named the “Copier Manufacturer of the Year” six times by the Marketing Research Consultants (MRC), and has twice been named to the CIO 100 for being among the top 100 “bold” (2005) and “agile” (2004) companies in the world.
TABS is an independent operating company of Toshiba Corporation, the sixth largest electronics/electrical equipment company and the world's 72nd largest company in terms of sales. Ranked by Fortune magazine as the 9th Most Admired Electronics Company in the World, Toshiba Corporation is a world leader in high technology products with more than 300 major subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide. Fiscal year revenue in 2004 was approximately $55 billion.
For more information on Toshiba copier, facsimile, multifunction printing products, network controllers or toner products, or for a dealer in your area, call 1-800-GO-TOSHIBA or visit the TABS Web site at www.copiers.toshiba.com.