Company says .Com domains must be used commercially, and offers to pay money in return for getting a domain name through UDRP.
BURRI public elements AG of Glattbrugg, Switzerland has filed one of the most misguided UDRPs I’ve ever seen.
The company filed a UDRP against Markus Burri, also of Switzerland, to try to get the domain name Burri.com.
The complainant argued:
The Respondent has no legitimate interests in respect of the disputed domain name, because he is not using it for commercial purposes. “.com” domains were originally intended for commercial use. The Complainant is going to expand its export activities in the next years. That’s why it is important to have a domain name for commercial use that is easy to find for potential customers around the world. So the Respondent has no need for the disputed domain name, but the Complainant does.
Wow.
Even better, the complainant asked the panel to transfer the domain name to it, but agreed to pay 15,000 Swiss Franc (about $14,600 USD) upon transfer of the domain name through UDRP! (The Respondent had offered to sell it for $50,000.)
Panelist Tobias Zuberbühler obviously rejected the complaint. BURRI was represented internally, but Zuberbühler still should have found it to have engaged in reverse domain name hijacking in this case. He didn’t discuss this issue.
John Berryhill says
You’d think they’d have figured this out by now, since they use burriag.ch because burri.ch is also registered to a guy named “Burri”.
Logan says
Looks like it’s time to burri the hatchet and just pay the gentleman his asking price.
C.S. Watch says
Sweeping cultural generalizations? Don’t mind if I do! :
German/Swiss inquirors on domains: The fat, stamping feet of a spoiled infant.
Aussie inquirors: Aggression and expletives.
French inquirors: Feigned disbelief, charmless entitlement.
US inquirors: Obtuse inquiry, followed by lies and fraud, followed by abuse of process.
Every inquiror under 30yo: ‘Awesome news, you have a domain I want, and you can give it to me!’ (Fantasy autoresponder: ‘The world needs ditch diggers, too, kid.’)
Chinese inquiror: 500 incomprehensible voicemails and emails, final offer is .00001 percent of price term.
Indian inquiror: Anguish and self-recrimination. (Yes, yours.)
Swedish inquiror: Ham-fisted deception. (This is glorified in Scandinavian antiquity. Some reform is in order.)
Mid-East inquiror: ‘Come onnn.’ (Years pass.) ‘How about now?’ Repeat to no resolution. See also, Israelis.
Japanese inquiror: *Crickets* (Sorry.)
British inquiror: ‘We just registered the co.uk, so the joke’s on you.’
Broker inquiror: ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, just tick the box. Trademark law doesn’t apply to domain names.’