AI Generated Logo Contributed to UDRP Loss

I recently wrote about a concern I have related to AI generated logos used on some domain name for sale landing pages. In short, if the AI created a logo that is similar to a logo being used by an active business, it could put the domain name at risk. A similar risk also exists for AI-generated descriptions and keywords.

A couple of weeks after I published my article, attorney John Berryhill pointed out that a logo generated by AI had been used on a domain name that was subject of a UDRP complaint.

It appears the AI-generated logo was a contributing factor that led to the loss of this domain name via the UDRP. The decision was published at the end of July, and it specifically mentioned the logo found on the Atom.com landing page:

“Furthermore, despite the Complainant having exhibited the Atom.com webpage offering the disputed domain name for sale, which includes a stylized version of the name DOITRIP with an elongated and tapered letter “O” similar to that utilized in the Complainant’s figurative trademark, the Respondent offers no explanation for this presentation.”

To be clear, this was not the only factor that caused the loss of the domain name. In fact, the domain name matched the complainant’s trademark. In addition, the complainant previously owned the domain name before “it failed to renew its own registration of the disputed domain name” due to a credit card issue. Perhaps, ownership of the domain name alone could have been defensible, but I think the logo put the proverbial nail in the coffin.

The panelist in the UDRP decision referenced section 3.2.3 of WIPO Overview 3.0 that should serve as guidance, particularly for domain investors:

“Willful blindness and the duty to search for and avoid trademark-abusive registrations.

Panels have held that especially domainers undertaking bulk purchases or automated registrations have an affirmative obligation to avoid the registration of trademark-abusive domain names. Panelists will look to the facts of the case to determine whether such respondent has undertaken good faith efforts to screen such registrations against readily available online databases to avoid the registration of trademark-abusive domain names.”

Domain investors who utilize AI-generated logos on their landing pages need to be aware that a logo that is similar in nature to a logo used by an existing brand could give ammo to that brand. Even having a similar color scheme could be used as evidence of bad faith registration. Domain investors need to be aware of this and do their due diligence before approving a logo for a landing page.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

4 COMMENTS

  1. Several human-generated logos provided through marketplace have also been found to copy logos of existing enterprises with similar domain names. In some but not all cases, the marketplace agreed to have the offending logos remade.

    Until recent changes at the marketplace, I stopped using logos for new listings. Instead, lifestyle images were generated, but now that names listed with logos appear to receive more exposure there than logo-less ones, I’ve gone back to applying logos to most new listings.

    It would be great if the marketplace could develop and maintain its own tool to scan for potential logo conflicts. At present, I’m relying on Google image search, but this requires some keyword ingenuity and isn’t always effective. For example, recent batch of 6 new listings for airlines came back with similar logos that used a familiar image of a dragon’s blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari) but which I couldn’t find anywhere online. Frustrating!

    Simply getting the automated logo generator to adhere to the same case logic and spelling as used in the domain listing itself isn’t always possible on that site, but re-generating logos until the (R) symbol no longer shows up can be done.

    Logos generated there for domains that include the word “Chinese” or “China” often include Simplified Chinese characters that appear random at best, and which I am unable to proof read, prompting logos to be omitted for those listings.

  2. The moral of the story?

    DO NOT TRUST AI. It is not a tool for YOUR benefit. It benefits the people/entities that created it for you to use. It is basically a tool to stop you from thinking and doing, and put that process into THEIR control.

    I won’t go into examples because many will likely not comprehend but there is plenty of knowledge/technologies hidden from us because they will benefit US, at the expense of “them” and their businesses. For God’s sake just spend a little time and do it yourself accurately and safely.

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