For Immediate Release
Contact: Scott Vouri (707) 782-1038

September 16, 2002

Republican Political Consultant ‘Cybersquats’ on Petaluma Tomorrow’s Website

Petaluma, CA - Petaluma Tomorrow announced today that it is unable to bring its website online because political consultant Brian Sobel, of the Sobel Communications Group in Petaluma, has registered the domain names petalumatomorrow.org, petalumatomorrow.com and petalumatomorrow.net.

Brian Sobel, is well known to Petaluma Tomorrow as a political adversary in the Petaluma and Sonoma County area. For example, Mr. Sobel and Petaluma Tomorrow advocated for opposing candidates in the March 2002 District 2 County Supervisor's race. Additionally, Sobel Communications Group recently was reported as consulting for the Sonoma County Water Agency, of which Petaluma Tomorrow has been a frequent critic for unsustainable watershed management practices.

Petaluma Tomorrow recently completed its candidate questionnaire and endorsement process for the upcoming Petaluma City Council race and intended to publish its questionnaire and the candidates’ responses on its website so that the public would have access to detailed information about candidate’s positions.

"When we discovered that our domain names had been taken, we called Mr. Sobel and asked if we could buy them from him at his cost," said Petaluma Tomorrow member Scott Vouri. "His response was that he would make them available to us after the November elections."

The federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act enacted in 1999, makes it illegal to register or acquire multiple domain names that are known to be identical or confusingly similar to marks of others that are distinctive at the time of registration of such domain names. It is also illegal to divert consumers from a mark owner's online location to a site accessible under the domain name that could harm the goodwill represented by the mark, either for commercial gain or with the intent to tarnish or disparage the mark, by creating a likelihood of confusion as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of the site.

Petaluma Tomorrow's use of its name, dates back to March 28, 2001, when its first public meeting was publicized in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and the Petaluma Argus-Courier. Since that time, Petaluma Tomorrow's activities have been widely reported, with eight additional articles in the Press Democrat and 32 articles (nearly two per month) in the Argus Courier. The date on Sobel Communications Group’s application for Petaluma Tomorrow’s domain names is July 16, 2002.

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Petaluma Tomorrow is a citizens advocacy group working for open government, responsible development and sustainable watershed management. For more information on Petaluma Tomorrow’s Petaluma City Council candidate endorsements contact Scott Vouri at (707) 782-1038.