Legal Battle Brews as Polo Gets Makeover

Polo Ralph Lauren made its entrance on the digital stage Thursday with Polo.com, a luxury, designer e-commerce site aimed at allowing consumers to “experience the world of Ralph Lauren.” But the launch was overshadowed by a domain dispute across the pond that evokes the law office more than Ralph Lauren’s world of luxury country clubs.

On Oct. 25, attorneys for the company sent a cease and desist letter to Keith Collingridge, a Web developer and Internet service provider in Woldingham, England, who recently registered the domain po-lo.com. The URL delivers surfers to Woldingham Saddlery, an under construction equestrian site run by Collingridge’s wife. Collingridge is also the owner of po-lo.com.uk.

“In view of Polo’s prior rights in and to the Polo marks, we believe that your registration of this domain name constitutes, inter alia, infringement, false advertising and dilution of our client’s valuable Polo Trademarks…” attorney Anthony Lo Cicero, of Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein, wrote in the letter to Collingridge. “In addition, the recently enacted Intellectual Property and Communications Omnibus Reform Act of 1999 provides powerful remedies against “cybersquatters,” including statutory damages of up to $100,000 per domain name.”

Cicero demanded that Collingridge withdraw his registration of po-lo.com within 14 days..

Collingridge called Polo Ralph Lauren’s accusation that he is a cybersquatter slanderous and hurtful.

“Now in this country, I’ve got to be honest with you, Polo as Ralph Lauren is unheard of,” Collingridge said. “I know it may sound silly, but Polo in this country is obviously the Sport of Kings. It’s been in this country for hundreds of years.”

Neither Lo Cicero nor representatives of Polo Ralph Lauren could be reached for comment. However, Martin Schwimmer, general counsel for NameEngine, an intellectual property ASP, said the issue is muddy. Schwimmer, formerly a partner at intellectual property law firm Fross Zelnick Lerman & Zissu, participated in 1994 in the battle over MTV.com, the world’s first reported domain name case. He is also a member of the International Trademark Association’s Internet Committee and helped create ICANN’s Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).

“The bottom line is: Both sides appear to have reasonable arguments in the U.S. and the U.K. — hard to say without a full record who is right and who is wrong,” Schwimmer said. “As has been said in a more presidential context: Too close to call.”

Schwimmer said he is not aware of the extent of Polo Ralph Lauren’s rights in the U.K.

“Assuming that PRL does have some rights in the U.K., then it may have infringement and passing off actions in the U.K. also (and it would not have jurisdictional problems that it would in the U.S.),” he said.

Schwimmer said in the U.S. Collingridge could argue:

  • He has no minimum contacts with the U.S. and therefore a U.S. court would not have jurisdiction over him
  • He is not using the name as a trademark (the trademark and trading name currently on the site is Woldingham)
  • Po-Lo is not confusingly similar to the word Polo
  • He is using the name Po-Lo descriptively because he will sell some type of goods associated with the sport.

He noted that in the U.K. Collingridge would not have a jurisdictional defense but the other arguments could be used. Also, under UDRP Schwimmer said there would have to be evidence on the record that infers Collingridge registered po-lo.com so as to deprive Polo Ralph Lauren of the name.

Collingridge said he has not yet decided if he will de-register the site and is waiting on legal advice.

Back in North America, Polo.com will go live to American consumers this weekend. Polo.com will offer online access to a full array of Ralph Lauren products from clothing and accessories to fragrances, vintage items, style tips and more. The site will even offer travel packages th

at will allow consumers to “experience the world of Ralph Lauren.”

“Bringing the Polo sensibility to the Internet is the next logical step in our evolution,” Ralph Lauren said. “Polo has always been about creating worlds and inviting customers to be part of our dream. We were the first to create multi-page ads that tell a story. We were the first to create stores that enable customers to interact with that lifestyle. Now we’re creating another first — Polo.com — a Web site that allows people to more fully interact and participate in the dreams and the worlds we’ve created.”

The online store falls under the aegis of Ralph Lauren Media LLC., a joint venture 50 percent owned by Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. Other partners include NBC with a 25 percent stake, ValueVision International Inc. with a 12.5 percent stake, NBC Internet Inc. with a 10 percent stake, and CNBC.com with a 2.5 percent stake. Polo.com is only one of the ways the venture will capitalize on the Ralph Lauren brand. Formed in February 2000, it plans to make a splash with Polo-branded media properties in book publishing, television production and feature films as well.

NBC will contribute $100 million in television and online advertising on NBC and CNBC.com and NBCi will add its support with $40 million in online distribution and promotion. ValueVision, a direct marketing company, will throw a cash funding commitment of up to $50 million into the mix. For its part, Polo Ralph Lauren will market Polo.com through its annual $100 million print advertising campaign and will supply its product to the site at initial cost of inventory. It will also provide customer service through returns, exchanges and personal assistance at its 29 full-line Polo Ralph Lauren retail stores and 91 full-line Ralph Lauren outlet stores across the U.S. Excess inventory will be managed through the company’s outlet stores.

Polo.com’s strategy is to create a streamlined shopping experience interwoven with editorial content and service-oriented features that will evoke the flavor of the Ralph Lauren brand. The store will feature Polo-branded products from Polo Ralph Lauren, Polo Sport, Polo Golf, RLX and Polo Jeans for men; Ralph Lauren Black Label, Polo Sport, Polo Golf, RLX and Polo Jeans for women; and a selection of items for children and holiday-gifts.

For the content side, the site will bring in emerging writers, illustrators and photographers. The site will also feature the “Ask Ralph” style guide for answering those difficult style questions.

To further the user experience, Polo Radio will offer four channels of streaming audio of the sort played in Ralph Lauren stores.

“Polo.com allows our customers the opportunity to literally jump into and interact with the world of Ralph Lauren,” said David Lauren, Ralph Lauren Media’s chief creative and marketing officer. “Now a person can not only see our lifestyle advertisements, they can buy the beautiful outfit, they can read an interview with the model who’s wearing it, watch a video about how to style it — and even book a trip to the location where the ad was shot.”

Brian McWilliams, host of InternetNews Radio, contributed to this article.

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