Surviving PANTERA Members Involved In Legal Dispute Over Web Site Domain Name

The surviving members of PANTERA are involved in a legal battle with their former webmaster over the Pantera.com domain name, which once served as the band's official web site (since February 2003, PANTERA's official web site has been located at www.officialpantera.com). According to the Justia.com legal portal, which maintains a database of Federal District Court filings and dockets, Pantera.com webmaster L. Alfenasfiled a lawsuit in the Michigan Western District Court on August 2, 2007 against the Pantera Partnership (consisting of Vincent Paul Abbott, Philip Hansen Anselmo, Rex Robert Brown, and the estate of Darell Lance ["Dimebag Darrell"] Abbott) over the domain, which has apparently been registered to Alfenas since 1998. The Pantera Partnership, meanwhile, filed a suit of their own in the Michigan Eastern District Court against Alfenas (who resides in Michigan) the very next day, August 3, 2007.

Writing on the PanteraChat.com message board (which is also apparently registered to Alfenas),Alfenas (who posts under the name "Alfie") stated about the lawsuits, "Their [PANTERA's] lawyer just said, 'Give us the domains or we are going to sue you. They could have saved a lot of money if they were just nice. You don't treat someone that's done nine years' worth of work for you like a piece of shit. Especially me."

Regarding his decision to file a lawsuit before the PANTERA camp had a chance to file theirs, Alfenas wrote, "I filed first because I knew they were going to file the next day." He added, "They are going to argue trademark dilution — meaning that because I own the site, they are losing money and I am tarnishing their mark." [According to Wikipedia, "trademark dilution is a trademark law concept forbidding the use of a famous trademark in a way that would lessen its uniqueness. In most cases, trademark dilution involves an unauthorized use of another's trademark on products that do not compete with, and have little connection with, those of the trademark owner. For example, a famous trademark used by one company to refer to hair care products, might be diluted if another company began using a similar mark to refer to breakfast cereals or spark plugs."]

On the possible outcome of this legal battle, Alfenas said, "One of two things will happen: I will win and keep Pantera.com and PanteraChat.com; or I lose it all, and lots of money to lawyers with it . . . Best part is, they [PANTERA] are using two lawyers — one at $500 per hour and some intern at probably $250 per hour. This is going to drag on for a lonnnnnng time if I have anything to say about it."

When asked by one of the other registered members on the PanteraChat.com message board if the surviving members of PANTERA have offered him any money in exchange for transferring the registration to the Pantera.com domain name over to them, Alfenas replied, "PANTERA has never paid me a dollar in nine years, the entire time I've run the site."

Dimebag Darrell was co-founder and lead guitarist for PANTERA. When PANTERA broke up in 2003, Dimebag and his brother Vinnie Paul formed DAMAGEPLAN. On Dec. 8, 2004, while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag was shot and killed onstage by Nathan Gale. He was 38 years old.

PANTERA's career overview CD, "The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!" (Elektra/Rhino),was certified platinum on January 13, 2006 by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of one million copies in the U.S. The band's classic "Vulgar Display of Power" (Elektra) album was certified double-platinum in 2004, signifying shipments of more than 2,000,000 units in the U.S. since its February 25, 1992 release.

Rhino Video in April 2006 released PANTERA's "3 Vulgar Videos From Hell" — a three-DVD set featuring all the band's videos as well as live footage shot during the Monsters of Rock gig in Moscow. Originally released on DVD in 1999, this version features the same content with improved menus and all-new Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. In fact, it is the first PANTERA release ever in 5.1 Surround Sound. It features: "Cowboys From Hell The Videos", "Vulgar Video", "3 Watch It Go", and "Pantera Live From Monsters of Rock In Moscow".

Watch PANTERA's "I'm Broken" video:

(Thanks: Oldschoolmetal6)