Tag Archives: National Arbitration Forum

Tue 29th December 2015
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
TGW.com saved in uncanny UDRP - No reverse domain name hijacking, but TGW.com to remain with owner. A three-person National Arbitration Forum panel has denied a case seeking transfer of TGW.com and thegolfwarehouse.com. The complainant, RG Golf, Inc. (“Complainant”) filed the case against The Golf Warehouse, Inc. The Golf Warehouse has owned the domain names since 1997. But there’s a bit of history between then and now. In 2000, The Golf Warehouse filed a UDRP against the complainant in this case for GolfWarehouse.com. The ... read more ...
Mon 7th December 2015
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain Owner sues National Arbitration Forum and complainant after losing UDRP - Lawsuit names UDRP complainant and National Arbitration Forum. VirtualPoint, Inc., which operates the site UDRPSearch.com, has filed a lawsuit after losing a UDRP for the domain name WindCreek.com. The company filed the suit (pdf) against not only the complainant in the case but also the National Arbitration Forum. Against complainant Poarch Band of Creek Indians, VirtualPoint alleges that the group fraudulently obtained its Wind Creek trademarks and manipulated evidence by searching for a specific ... read more ...
Fri 16th October 2015
Written by The Domains in EN and tagged
Unblock.com Saved In UDRP But Panelist Should Have Found Reverse Domain Hijacking - NetProtect, Inc. just lost its attempt to grab the domain name unblock.com in a UDRP in a silly case that should have resulted in a finding of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH) but the panelist was IMHO lazy and decided just to throw out the case. Calvin A. Hamilton was the sole Panelist for the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) who rejected Complainant argument that it had acquired unregistered common law trademark rights. “In order to acquire rights in an unregistered trademark, Complainant ... read more ...
Wed 23rd September 2015
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
An engaging craziness in UDRP rulings - This panelist has a different standard for the first element of UDRP. This morning I was reading the UDRP decision for CallFinder.com. Panelist David Einhorn got the answer correct — the domain name shouldn’t have been transferred to a company that got a trademark for CallFinder many years after the domain name was registered. But I was surprised to see that Einhorn found that 800 Response Marketing, LLC failed to prove the first prong of the UDRP. The first prong basically says that the domain ... read more ...
Thu 20th August 2015
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Philip Morris takes down dispute sites in messy cybersquatting decision - Tobacco company convinces arbitration panelist to hand over domain names used to criticize it. One of the gripe sites Philip Morris just took down.Philip Morris has won another cybersquatting complaint against a long time nemesis. The company convinced a single member National Arbitration Forum panelist that David Delman should hand over six domain names he used as gripe sites about smoking: philipmorris.website, philipmorrisviolations.website, philipmorriscigarettediseases.org, philipmorriscigaretteskill.com, ... read more ...
Wed 12th August 2015
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Bid.tv domain handed over in UDRP - Domain name expired after company was put in administration. The former bid.tv, before the company failed.National Arbitration Forum panelist Neil Anthony Brown has ordered the domain name Bid.tv transferred. The story of this domain name is interesting. It was used by UK company Sit-Up Ltd (trading as Bid Shopping) for many years. That company was put in administration (similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy) last year. Earlier this year, an entity called Bid Shopping Limited acquired the intellectual ... read more ...
Wed 3rd June 2015
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
University of Florida gets FloridaGators.com…18 years later - Site owner changed use to one about alligators after receiving cease desist letter. The University of Florida will soon own the domain name FloridaGators.com after winning a cybersquatting dispute. The domain name was registered by a Florida man as far back as 1997, 18 years ago. For years, it was a site about the University of Florida’s sports teams. Here’s a screenshot from Screenshots.com from a couple years ago: In March, the university sent a cease and desist to the site’s owner. According ... read more ...
Thu 28th May 2015
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
NAF row orders send of FatTuesday.com to owners of Fat-Tuesday.com - Panel really screwed this one up. A three person National Arbitration Forum panel has ordered the transfer of the domain name FatTuesday.com to David Briggs Enterprises, Inc. The complainant operates bars under the name Fat Tuesday and uses the inferior domain name Fat-Tuesday.com. Of course, Fat Tuesday is also the name for what many of us think of as Mardi Gras. Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday”. Type “Fat Tuesday” into Google, and it duly pops up the date of this holiday. Amazingly, ... read more ...
Mon 18th May 2015
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Panelist asks complainant to cgange the box to obstacle domain purebred in 1995 - Domain wasn’t registered in bad faith, but panelist asks complainant to make a different argument. I’m dumbfounded. A single member UDRP panelist with National Arbitration Forum has ordered the domain name VideoLink.com be transferred — after, apparently, asking the complainant to modify its argument to the panelist’s liking. VideoLink, Inc. said it started using the VideoLink term in commerce in 1999. Xantech Corporation registered the domain name in 1995, so the respondent could not have ... read more ...
Wed 8th April 2015
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Uniform Rapid Suspension by a numbers - A look at which new top level domain names are getting hit with the most URS cases. Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) was introduced along with new top level domains as a sort of faster, cheaper version of UDRP. Companies can make a cybersquatting claim against a domain name in the abbreviated procedure. If they win, the domain name is suspended rather than transferred like it is in a UDRP. Both National Arbitration Forum (NAF) and Asian Domain Name Dispute Resolution Centre (ADNDRC) handle URS cases. ... read more ...
Wed 28th January 2015
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Was Michele.watch purebred for Pole Dances or for Watches? - Domain name registrant came up with a creative defense in UDRP. A National Arbitration Forum panel has ordered the domain name Michele.watch transferred to watchmaker Fossil Group, Inc. I’ve got to hand it to the respondent in this case. He put up a spirited defense of his registration of Michele.watch. Kucevic said he didn’t register the domain name to take advantage of Fossil’s Michele brand of watches. Instead, he registered it for use as a pole dancing site. The idea was that visitors ... read more ...
Mon 15th September 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Owner of CountryGirlStore.com guilty of retreat domain name hijacking - Company abused policy to try to deprive rightful owner of CountryGirl.com domain name. LML Investments, owner of Country Girl branded clothing sold at CountryGirlStore.com, has been admonished by a panel for abusing the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). The company filed a cybersquatting complaint against PA Gordon, owner of CountryGirl.com. The case was filed despite Gordon having owned the domain name since well before LML Investments claims ... read more ...
Tue 8th April 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Busted: UDRP panelist contradicts his progressing decisions - Panelist’s rationale for latest decision directly contradicts earlier ones. National Arbitration Forum panelist Héctor A. Manoff has found against Restomod, Inc. in a UDRP it filed for the domain name restomod.com. The decision is probably correct, but how he came to the decision directly contradicts earlier decisions he has made. In the Restomod.com case, the domain registrant registered the domain name way back in 1999. The complainant didn’t register a trademark ... read more ...
Thu 20th March 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
UDRP row gets AustinPain.com preference wrong - Panel awards generic domain name to company with questionable trademark rights. A National Arbitration Forum panel has ordered the transfer of the domain name AustinPain.com, and I believe it got the decision wrong. The case was filed by Austin Pain Associates* against HugeDomains. The three person panel had to twist and rationalize UDRP rules in order to find against HugeDomains in each aspect of the UDRP. Reading the case, it’s apparent that Austin Pain Associates ... read more ...
Tue 18th March 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Panel won’t find Reverse Domain Name Hijacking due to whois privacy - UDRP panelist cites whois privacy as reason for not finding RDNH. A single member National Arbitration Forum panel has found in favor of the owner of Finell.com, but declined to find reverse domain name hijacking because the owner used a whois privacy service. The UDRP complaint was brought by Finell Co., LLC, which has its origins around 2011. Architect Filip Finell registered Finell.com in 2000 and started using it to promote his architecture firm. He later took ... read more ...
Thu 13th February 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
IBM wins initial new tip turn domain URS case - Panel hands down decision within one week. IBM has won the first ever Uniform Rapid Suspension case for new top level domain names. A National Arbitration Forum panelist ruled in the company’s favor in a dispute over IBM.guru and IBM.ventures. Both domain names will be suspended but not transferred to IBM. IBM can opt to register them when they expire or file a UDRP to get the domain names. IBM has belatedly signed up for Donuts’ Domains Protected Marks List, ... read more ...
Tue 4th February 2014
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
With film in a works, studio goes after Entourage Movie domain names - EntourageMovie.com and EntourageFilm.com hit with UDRP. Filming has begun for the big screen adaptation of the HBO hit show Entourage, which follows movie star Vincent Chase and his entourage. Someone behind the film–most likely the movie studio– HBO has filed a cybersquatting complaint with the National Arbitration Forum against the domain names EntourageMovie.com and EntourageFilm.com. Both domain names are registered to a Florida man, Cody Thompson, although ... read more ...
Wed 24th July 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Aptus Tech nailed for perplexing to steal domain name from Frank Schilling - Panel determines that Aptus Tech engaged in reverse domain name hijacking. Last month I asked why people didn’t do a bit of research before filing a UDRP against Frank Schilling. The specific case that prompted my article was Klipz.com, which had just been filed. The decision is in, and it’s clear that, not only did the complainant not research who owned the domain, but he didn’t research much about UDRP, either. A three person National Arbitration Forum panel ... read more ...
Mon 15th July 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
NAF panels reject UDRP claims on Rive.com, GoodTherapy.com and AspenHeights.com - Three domains, including a four letter .com, saved in UDRPs. National Arbitration Forum has published three recent decisions in favor of respondents. Although none of them resulted in findings of reverse domain name hijacking, some of the complaints had serious deficiencies. In Rive.com, the domain owner registered the domain 2004, well before the complainant had any rights in the mark. In the panelists’ words, the complainant also argued that since the respondent ... read more ...
Fri 12th July 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Overus.com box provides singular glance into UDRP complaint - Losing complainant posts all documents online, including price negotiations. When Domain Name Wire reports on UDRP decisions, usually all we have is the panelist’s write-up of the decision. This typically includes the panelist’s summary of each party’s case, but not the entire written complaint and response. In the case of Overus.com, which the respondent just won, the complainant actually posted the full complaint online — including evidence he submitted ... read more ...
Wed 19th June 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Man turns to courts to overturn terrible UDRP decision - The Alexander family asks court to overturn decision to transfer JustinAlexander.com. In 1999 Gary Alexander did something that was rather forward looking for the time: he registered his family members’ names as .com addresses. He registered his own name, GaryAlexander.com, domains for his sons, JustinAlexander.com and JaredAlexander.com, as well as one for his wife, DianeAlexander.com. Two years later a wedding dress designer called Justin Alexander started up. 14 ... read more ...
Tue 23rd April 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Domain settlement cases corner adult somewhat in 2012 - …but trail the growth in domain name registrations. National Arbitration Forum (NAF) has released its official numbers for 2012 UDRP cases. Combined with World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) results, the number of UDRP cases filed last year appears to have edged up slightly. NAF reported a total of 2,060 cases for 2012 last year, which was 22 fewer than in 2011. WIPO earlier reported 2,884 cases, up from 2,764 in 2011. Between the two biggest UDRP ... read more ...
 
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
DomainSkate offers templated UDRP complaints for $399 - Low cost service prepares UDRP filing to submit to National Arbitration Forum. DomainSkate lets anyone create a UDRP complaint. Users would be wise to have the complaint reviewed by an attorney before submitting it.The biggest cost of filing or responding to a UDRP isn’t paying fees to National Arbitration Forum or WIPO. It’s typically the lawyer’s fees that add up to the most. DomainSkate aims to change that by offering a low cost way to compile the necessary ... read more ...
Wed 23rd January 2013
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
Guy files UDRP opposite his brother - Something tells me these guys didn’t get together for Christmas this year. You know familial relations have hit a new low when you filed a UDRP against your brother. That’s what happened in a recent case filed with National Arbitration Forum. Reed Bousada owns an interior design company. According to his complaint for the domain name Bousada.com, it looks like his brother Jay registered Bousada.com and let him use it for his business for a while. Something happened ... read more ...
Tue 23rd October 2012
Written by DomainNameWire in EN and tagged
InteriorDesign.com strike with UDRP - Valuable generic hit with UDRP. Another day, another amazing UDRP filing. This time it’s for InteriorDesign.com, which is owned by P. A. Gordon in Guam. Gordon owns some spectacular domain names, including Laptops.com, Getaway.com, Profit.com, Italy.com, Denmark.com, Netherlands.com, and Venezuela.com. It appears Gordon is the original registrant of the domain from 1997; at a minimum historical whois records show the registrant hasn’t changed since at least 2000. I ... read more ...