Family Dispute Leads to UDRP

November 11, 2019

When I was looking over the recent UDRP decision on UDRPSearch.com, I was not surprised to see the claim denied on a 5 domain name UDRP filing, which included AlcoholicBeverageDevelopment.com and AlcoholicBeveragePacking.com. I didn’t even take a glance at the decision because I just assumed the UDRP was filed by a company that wrongly thought it could get control of some seemingly generic domain names.

It was not until I saw this tweet from IP and domain industry attorney John Berryhill that I learned there was more to this UDRP than meets the eye. In fact, it appears to involve a family dispute:

BackCountry Trademark Aggression + Domain Names

Elliot Silver

November 7, 2019

Earlier this year, outdoor clothing retailer Backcountry reportedly started to become more aggressive with regards to its Backcountry trademarks. The company, which operates on its brand match descriptive domain name (Backcountry.com), reportedly went after other companies and websites that were also using Backcountry in their branding. This made many people upset, especially when they learned that some of the companies in Backcountry’s crosshairs had been using the “Backcountry” branding for a long, long time:

There were a lot of upset gear customers this week after news dropped that the e-retailer was suing smaller brands for trademark infringement of the word “backcountry”. https://t.co/rMO5aOd6FC

— Outside Magazine (@outsidemagazine) November 7, 2019

Duggan.com UDRP Decided Rapidly

Elliot Silver

November 7, 2019

Less than two weeks ago, I noticed that a UDRP had been filed against the Duggan.com domain name at the NAF. While Duggan stood out to me as a last name, what really caught my attention was a quick Whois search that showed that Duggan.com is owned by a person with Duggan as his last name. I think this fact should have made the complainant realize the UDRP will not succeed because it would seem impossible to prove the domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith if the registrant’s last name is the same.

UDRP Filed Against Naturals.com

Elliot Silver

October 15, 2019

Naturals.com is now the subject of a UDRP proceeding at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The UDRP is WIPO Case D2019-2508. It looks like the UDRP was filed within the last few days.

Gap Files UDRP Against Gap.org

Elliot Silver

September 26, 2019

GAP, the clothing retailer, has filed a UDRP against the Gap.org domain name. The UDRP was filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization. The UDRP is WIPO Case D2019-2337.

Gap.org was originally created in April of 1997, making the domain name over 20 years old. The domain name is currently registered under Whois privacy at GoDaddy, so the current registrant is not publicly known. According to NameBio, the Gap.org domain name sold on Flippa in 2016 for $3,850. You can see the archived Flippa listing here.

HugeDomains Gets RDNH Finding on RockNCrystals.com UDRP

Elliot Silver

September 16, 2019

A UDRP was filed at WIPO against the RockNCrystals.com domain name, which is owned by HugeDomains (a company operated by Turn Commerce). The respondent was self-represented, and it won the UDRP with a finding of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH). In looking at the domain name alone, I would not have expected a RDNH finding, but in reviewing the decision, I can see why the panelist ruled in this manner.

The sequence of events that led to the UDRP filing is what caused the UDRP to fail and the panelist to rule in favor of Huge Domains. An aspect of the decision is another example of a panelist acknowledging the legitimacy of selling domain names as a business (although it is arguably not a strong endorsement):

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Legal News

Family Dispute Leads to UDRP

BackCountry Trademark Aggression + Domain Names

Duggan.com UDRP Decided Rapidly

UDRP Filed Against Naturals.com

Gap Files UDRP Against Gap.org

HugeDomains Gets RDNH Finding on RockNCrystals.com UDRP

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