American Media Inc. head David Pecker has lost a legal battle with a California man over the rights to davidpecker.com. Pecker filed a complaint last year with the World Intellectual Property Organization against Thomas Ferris, who registered the Web address last February, claiming that it served links to hardcore pornographic sites that tarnished Pecker by association. According to court documents, Pecker offered $100 (jeez, how bad have things gotten at AMI ?) to buy the address from Ferris, whose counteroffer sought $1,600. Ferris said he had never heard of Pecker, and that the ads were generated by a “parking service” he used because the address had “pecker” in its name.

Pecker, having “completed more than $3.6 billion in magazine transactions,” is described in court documents as “a famous and highly respected businessperson in the publishing industry” — so much so that his name has taken on an even bigger meaning:

David Pecker’s personal fame and reputation have caused his name, as a leader in the publishing industry and as Chairman and CEO of AMI, to acquire a secondary meaning in the industry.

Apparently, the court disagreed:

The panel is not convinced, based on the limited record before it, that Complainant has established rights in the name “David Pecker” for the purpose of this proceeding.