An Illinois resident won a David and Goliath battle against Rev. Falwell and his lawyer minions. Fallwell, who has trademarked his name, demanded that the parody site JerryFalwell.com surrender its domain name. While Falwell's lawyers originally threatened a lawsuit, they took the issue to the World Intellectual Property Organization, which mediates such disputes.

In a surprising 2-1 vote, WIPO shot down Fallwell's claims. Not only was the ruling a great victory for the First Amendment right to parody public figures, but a somewhat surprising ruling for WIPO, which is usually rabidly pro-Trademark owner.