UDRP Filed Against CQC.com Domain Name (Updated)

Elliot Silver
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Screen Shot 2017-01-25 at 3.30.21 PM

A UDRP has been filed against the high value CQC.com domain name at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This is WIPO Case D2017-0129. I believe it is the first UDRP filed against a three letter .com (LLL.com) so far in 2017.

CQC.com is currently registered to Earthlink, the IT services and communications company headquartered in Atlanta. I am not sure if the domain name is owned by Earthlink or if it is owned by a customer. When I visited CQC.com today, it showed a MyEarthlink landing page.

CQC.com was created in October of 1997, making the domain name nearly 20 years old. Domain names like this have been very popular in China, especially with the repeating letter C. Estibot values this domain name at over $150,000. I am not sure how accurate this figure is, but I would imagine the domain name would sell for high 5 or low 6 figures, although the Chinese market is not my area of expertise.

The complainant in this UDRP filing is a company

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Why Aren’t Domain Industry Lawyers UDRP Panelists?

Elliot Silver
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9

One thing I noticed is that it seems there are UDRP panelists who either represent clients in UDRP proceedings or work at law firms that represent clients in UDRP proceedings. Based on my own recollection, I don’t believe there are  any domain name lawyers (who are also experienced in intellectual property law) who serve as a UDRP panelist.

When a domain owner has a domain name that is the subject of a UDRP proceeding, one would expect the UDRP panelist(s) to be experienced intellectual property attorneys. Understanding and having IP experience is necessary when considering cases involving IP-related issues.

That being said, I think every domain name investment industry lawyer has a background in intellectual property and trademark law. There are quite a few exceptional attorneys who regularly represent domain investor clients, and I don’t understand why none of them seem to serve as panelists for WIPO or NAF UDRP cases.

UDRP panelists need to be neutral when serving, and I would imagine domain investment industry attorneys can be as neutral as their counterparties who represent trademark owners. I can’t imagine this would be the issue.

In my opinion,

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Reverse Domain Name Hijacking Ruling in MEZ.com UDRP

Elliot Silver
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8

In September of last year, a UDRP was filed against the Mez.com domain name. This afternoon, I learned via an update on UDRPSearch.com that the UDRP was denied. I later learned that the panel also ruled that this was a case of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH).

The registrant  of the domain name was represented by attorney Jason Schaeffer of the ESQWire law firm in New Jersey. In my opinion, ESQWire is one of the top law firms representing domain name owners in UDRP and other domain name defense cases.

Although I asked for and received a copy of the UDRP provided by attorney Schaeffer, the decision has not yet been published on the WIPO website. I uploaded a pdf of the decision here.

The UDRP was initiated  by a Swiss company called George Mez AG shortly after the complainant submitted an offer of $600 to buy the domain name. The company also apparently mentioned its MEZ trademarks in the purchase discussion. From my perspective, three letter .com domain names have been worth beyond three figures for over a decade, and LLL .com domain names have been selling regularly for 5 figures. Even the lowest value LLL .com domain names sell for 5 figures these days, and I wouldn’t consider MEZ.com to be on the lower end of this type of domain name. I can’t imagine an offer like this would entice a domain owner to sell.

The  decision and the facts surrounding the decision are a bit complicated, so you will want to read the entire decision to see the facts of the case and how the three member panel came to its conclusion.

One thing you will note is that the respondent

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Kion.com Subject of UDRP (Updated)

Elliot Silver
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A UDRP was filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for the Kion.com domain name. The UDRP complaint is listed as WIPO Case D2017-0025.

Kion.com is over 20 years old, having been registered in August of 1996. The current registrant of Kion.com is listed as “Kion Printing Inc.” based in California. The  DomainTools Whois History Tool shows that this company has been the registrant of Kion.com since at least 2001. DomainTools doesn’t have an archived record from before 2001, so it is very likely the company has owned the domain name for even longer that this.

At the time of publication, Kion.com does not resolve for me, and I am sent to an ISP error page. Archive.org seems to indicate that the domain name hasn’t had a website since 2010.  Estibot says this 4 letter aged .com domain name is worth $19,000.

The complainant in this UDRP is an entity called KION Material Handling GmbH.

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Curt Schilling Files UDRP for CurtSchilling.com

Elliot Silver
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1

In one of the final UDRP filings of 2016, legendary baseball player Curt Schilling has filed a UDRP against the CurtSchilling.com domain name. The UDRP was filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization, and it is WIPO case #D2016-2642.

CurtSchilling.com has a creation date of October 22, 2012. Based on this creation date, my guess is the domain name was acquired via drop auction (or drop catching service) since the domain name had been previously registered. I do not see a public sale record for this domain name at NameBio, so that is a guess and I am unsure of the purchase price. At the time of publication, CurtSchilling.com forwards to SnackSmarter.com, which has a “coming soon” landing page with contact information on it.

For those who aren’t familiar with Curt Schilling, he is

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Gstaad.com Subject of UDRP (Updated)

Elliot Silver
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2

gstaad-com-domain-name-udrp

A UDRP has been filed against Gstaad.com at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The case is WIPO Case D2016-2601.

Gstaad is an area of Switzerland known for its world class skiing. You can read more about Gstaad in this Ski.com write-up. The Gstaad.com domain name has a creation date of October 31, 1995, making over 20 years old. The domain name appears to be registered to a registrant in Monte Carlo, and the domain name currently forwards to a website found at 3780gstaad.com.

According to NameBio, Gstaad.com  sold for $31,250 at auction via SnapNames back in 2006. For  an unknown reason, it is not listed in the DNJournal sales report for 2006, but had it been, it would have been in the top 25 public sales for the year.

The complainant in this UDRP is listed as

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