Like most people, we're under the impression that one Keith Urban on the planet is one Keith Urban too many, so imagine when our horror to discover that there are two Keith Urbans in the world – and they're fighting to the death over a website.
One of these Keith Urbans is Keith Urban the Awful Cowboy Singer – the man who the bulk of people know only as the man with the strange hair who's married to Nicole Kidman. But there's another Keith Urban – an amateur painter – and he has control of the Keithurban.com website. This frustrates Nicole Kidman's Keith Urban so much that he's launched a lawsuit against painter Keith Urban to wrestle control of Keithurban.com back so he can rightfully call himself King Of All Keith Urbans Forever, much to the delight of the handful of creepily obsessive Keith Urban fans who are about to start leaving comments under this article about what arseholes we are for always writing about Keith Urban in a not very nice way.
Keith Urban has spent the last few months trying to make his life his own again. After he married Nicole Kidman in the world's most helicopter-less wedding, the almighty pressure that came with being married to a genuine global celebrity seemed to take its toll on Keith Urban. People kept looking at him for one, and it wasn't long before Keith Urban ran off to rehab to examine the state of his life.
Rehab was tough for Keith Urban but – despite stories of escape attempts, drowning in booze and missed awards ceremonies – he made it through the other side, apologising to fans and planning a new world tour. But even though Keith Urban has his physical life back on track, his virtual life is all over the shop. Some other Keith Urban owns the Keithurban.com web domain and, by Christ, Keith Urban wants it back, as the Hollywood Reporter reports:
Keith Urban, the country singer, has filed a lawsuit against Keith Urban, the painter from New Jersey, claiming the painter's Web site violates federal trademark laws. The lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court, says Keith D. Urban of Wayne, N.J., is using his keithurban.com domain in a deceptive manner and for commercial purposes. The Web site includes the statement: "You have reached the site of Keith Urban. To those who don't know, oil painting is one of my hobbies." It then directs viewers to a gallery of paintings and offers a limited edition of prints for sale. Urban — whose Web address is keithurban.net — argues that the New Jersey man is misleading people into believing the Web site belongs to him and is selling merchandise as if it were produced or endorsed by him.
All in all, cowboy Keith Urban accuses painter Keith Urban of "federal trademark infringement, dilution of a federally registered trademark, federal unfair competition and violation of the anti-cybersquatting consumer protection act and the Tennessee consumer protection act."
But let's just say that cowboy Keith Urban wins his lawsuit against painter Keith Urban and gets to use Keithurban.com for himself. The existing website wouldn't need to be changed too much – the line "You have reached the site of Keith Urban. To those who don't know, oil painting is one of my hobbies" would need to be switched to "You have reached the site of Keith Urban. To those who don't know, writing girly songs where I randomly pick from the words 'I,' 'Me,' 'Love,' 'You,' 'Wanna,' and 'God' to choose the titles, watching Smokey And The Bandit marathons in a big hat while I twirl a lasso above my head and drinking so much booze that I end up in rehab are some of my hobbies" but the rest could probably stay as it is.
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Pedro says
Nothing?? What’s wrong with you people? You’re usually so quick to take the bait
Shiver says
How can you possibly say such horrible things about such a wonder–Oh, wait. I effing hate Keith Urban and all the other crazed lawsuit junkies like him. Um, nevermind. Tra la la.
chowza says
He wants the painter to post a disclaimer on keithurban.com stating he’s not the singer — I wonder if he will also post a disclaimer on keithurban.net stating he’s not the painter so people won’t be mislead into believing he has an actual talent??
Melanie Bath says
While I don’t agree with the lawsuit, would it really hurt the painter man to just put a note on his website informing people that he is not the singer!!
And clearly you people, and particularly you Stuart, obviously don’t appreciate good music and talent when you see/hear it! I suggest, again, that you take time out to actually see Keith (the singer) live, you might just change your opinion!
Sue says
Stuart, you are actually starting to make me laugh!! I love the “creepily obsessive Keith Urban fans” bit.
Now that all true ‘Keith Urban The Singer’ fans have established that you are just jealous and a bit sad (and we assume tone-deaf
as you don’t appear to like decent music) I think we will all take great joy in laughing at your articles….
…. please write some more!
As regards the lawsuit, it is unfortunate that Keith lives in the “if it moves sue it” culture that is the US. But really if you look at the other guy’s website, now way would you think it belonged to our Keith.
Kerry says
There is only ONE Keith Urban. The lightest of brush stokes, the capture of the light over the little girl’s red balloon, the expression on the face, the magenta hues…. I can only suppose the strange bloke that sings (the one who is famous for marrying Nicole Kidman) is hijacking the site for publicity. Shame on him.
CA Highway Petrol says
wait, this is the guy that won American Idol last year, right?
MrsSand says
I didn’t realize someone could get a trademark on their name. Does this mean if your last name is Urban, you will be prohibited from naming your child Keith?
Clitoral Hoodlum says
I don’t think that Keith Urban’s noise can actually be called music.
Randy McCulloch says
Gosh, I mean really folks. Is anyone else sick of egotistical showbiz people. So Mr. Keith Urban, the so-so country musician and so-so wife of Nicole whats-her-name has decided that HE and not the Mr. Keith Urban, the current rightful owner of his namesake domain, should be the rightful owner. He didn’t change his name to Mr. Keith Kidman?. First, let me make sure there aren’t any Keith Urban albums in my collection, oops, found one, FFFLLLUUUSSSHHH, then let me just state for the record, he is really not a very good country artist, and now it is obvious he is not much of human being either.
Jenn says
While I could really could care less about Mr. Kidman’s personal traumas, such as his issue with anyone else using his name, I must point out a few of things that need to be emphasized here:
1. Keith Lionel Urban, the country singer, is not even using his birth name. “Urban” is his STAGE name. Keith isn’t his first name, NOR is Urban his real last name. His birth name is Richard Keith Urbanski. Even IMDB.com (internet movie database) list him as Keith Urban (II) because there was another Keith Urban, who is a special effects coordinator, listed before he was, in 1995, on such movies like “John Carpenter’s Village Of The Damned” and “Men Of Honor”. Hmmmm, do I smell another lawsuit??
2. The keithurban.com site has been registered for 8 years. Mr. Kidman’s only having an issue with it NOW?? Perhaps its only because he’s only sober enough to realize that he should be pissed off about it. Don’t they show you in rehab how facing your problems is part of your recovery? Perhaps he was drinking himself to death because of all of the pressure, but I think it’s because this whole trademark thing bothered him so much that he had to drink. Maybe it’s just all of the pressure of showing TALENT.
3. The site, keithurban.com was created in 1999. Urban-country-singer didn’t even release his debut album until 2000. DOH!
3. I see nothing on keithurban.com that indicates that Jersey’s Keith Urban is anyone other than a painter. So by “not” including a disclaimer, he is automatically guilty of trademark infringement? A friend of mine is named “Michael Jackson” but he doesn’t go around making sure people know that he’s not the guy that fondled a bunch of little kids (although, he might want to think about that, just in case).
4. I think the painter should counter-sue and make the country-singer-Keith put a disclaimer on all of his records that he’s not to be confused with the painter whose name he borrowed without asking. Then again, maybe Mr. Kidman should either just officially change his name to Kidman (that’s what everyone knows him by, after all), or he should just revert back to his birth name: DICK. (So where does “Lionel “come from?? Perhaps Mr. Ritchie should sue…)
Jimothay Andersonian says
pretty much all of you who posted here are idiots
Sharon says
This was wonderfully hilarious! Thanks folks!
Dale says
Just heard about this issue (not surprising since I don’t listen to Mr. Kidman’s music).
People that do this crap should be counter-sued until all of their money and all of their future money is gone. The So-called singer has zero rights to the .com domain. Hopefully the information Jenn posted is correct about the singers name. If so, then the painter has fantastic grounds to sue.
Since that of this date in 2009 the painter still owns the domain, I assume he won any and all cases about the domain.
Tommy says
This is ridiculous… the painter regester the domain first… is Keith Urban (the singer) so arrogant that he think he can just steal the other’s domain?
Travis says
I have reviewed in detail Keith Urban the musicians suit against Keith Urban the painter.
I can say I have never been more disgusted by the pompous and abusive way in which an individual has come to this country / Keith Urban the Musician. Become successful due to being embraced by the people. Then turning around and using his wealth and power to intimidate the citizens and abuse our legal system by suing Keith Urban the Painter over his web address.
There used to be something in this country called 1st amendment rights. Considering Keith Urban the painter legally registered the URL before Keith Urban the musician. And has used the work to sell his paintings . . . what business is it of Keith Urban the Musicians what Keith Urban the Painter decides to put on his web page?
The fact remains that Keith Urban the Painter registered and began using the domain in the 90’s. Before Keith Urban the Musician was Keith Urban the Musician.
Regardless of the nation from which either parties are native. The suit is baseless and a frivolous deflation of our countries resources to resolve a matter in which Keith Urban the musician has no base to raise a complaint against Keith Urban the painter . . . regardless of how famous he is.
Fame and money should not buy right and wrong,
Keith Urban the musicians lawsuit against Keith Urban the painter is a disgrace to the Australian people.
He will lose. I hope he has the decency to help out the artist whose life he is interfering with.
Keith Urban the Musician has forever lost a dime of revenue from this citizen.
Nedra says
I really got sick of reading everybodys squabble so I skipped the end. But did anyone mention what ever came of the lawsuit or that the paintings are terrible?
scotty says
and that includes you
josh spear says
there is a whole hell of a lot wrong here first your sitting IMDB wich says his birth name is Keith Lionel Urban, not richard. second his first song was released in 1999 his debuet album was in 2000 but it wasnt his first published songs and third you haveno life if you this is what you do writing shitty comments about good artists all of you on here must be deaf because he has some of the best songs out there so stop hating.
rebecca kessler says
Yes, I guess I am one of those CRAZY fan’s of keith urban…the singer.. you all are a bunch of jealous loser’s..and I hope he would sue your a**s off
Kristen Cragin says
It’s unfortunate that the two Keith Urbans’ couldn’t come to an agreement over this instead of the country singer taking the not so good way and suing. I don’t agree with his decision but I do think he is a good singer. For those of you who don’t like country music it doesn’t make him not good. I don’t care for rock music that much but that doesn’t mean that all those singers are bad singers. Everyone needs to grow up.
Keith Urban says
Well I am Keith Urban from New Jersey and I am neither the country singer nor the painter. I am the Viking Keith Urban and I am a Heavy Metal Musician. I say we put all us Keith Urban’s in a Colosseum to fight to the death. Only one will emerge and that is me guaranteed!!
Tess says
Although I don’t agree with what I Keith Urban did as a singer. Its obvious that the writer if this article doesn’t like Keith urban. Maybe didn’t like the fact he married Nicole? LoL But he has his own fame. Ehere is he now? I guess the writer spoke too soon. I just recently became interested in his music. Its really more of pop than country and he never really wears hat so I am not sure if he can be considered as a cowboy. Wow. I find this article to have a lot of errors.