Legal News

UDRP Filed Against Oger.com (Updated)

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oger-com-udrp

A UDRP has been filed against the Oger.com domain name at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This UDRP is WIPO Case D2016-2488.

Oger.com was created back in 1998. The domain name is registered to an entity called Oger Investments, and the domain registrant’s address is in Australia. Acc0rding to a website called AUCompany.org, there is an Australian company called Oger Investments, Pty., which the website says was incorporated in 1997.

Using DomainTools’ Whois History Tool, I looked back through the years, and it appears this same registrant has owned the domain name for quite some time. In fact, the first archived Whois record is from 2001, and it shows the registrant as Oger Investments. It is very possible that this domain name has been owned by the same entity even before that.

When I visited Oger.com this morning, I was taken to what appears to be a  registrar-controlled “under construction” page. One issue, perhaps, is the links on the under construction page are clothing related. Because the domain registrant doesn’t control those links nor generates revenue from them (to my knowledge), it would be unfortunate if this played a role in the decision.

The UDRP complaint was

A Domain Name Could be Too Generic

I exclusively buy domain names that I deem generic / descriptive. These are common words or phrases that are meaningful to people who use them and the customers that visit their websites. One downside for prospective buyers of descriptive keyword domain names is that they may be too generic.

I was in a negotiation with a buyer’s agent during the past week or so, and the prospective buyer opted to not buy my one word .com domain name. The buyer’s agent told me the reason the company passed was its lawyers advised them that the company would have a very difficult time registering the trademark they would need because of the broad usage of the keyword in the market. Essentially, there were so many other companies using this keyword in their businesses, that the prospective buyer might not be able to get trademark protection.

There are many great reasons for why a strong keyword domain name can be great for a business. There are also quite a few big brands that use keyword .com domain names as their brand, including Hotels.com, Cars.com, Apartments.com, Diapers.com, Soap.com…etc.

Even as someone without a

More UDRP Cases at WIPO in 2016 Than 2015

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wipo-logoThere is still well over a month remaining in 2016, and it looks like there are more  UDRP filings this year at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) than there were last year for gTLD domain names (which includes .com, .net, .org, and the new extensions). WIPO is not the only UDRP provider, but I believe it is the largest provider.

The highest case number in 2015 was WIPO Case D2015-2378. That UDRP was for the air-suspension-shop.com, and the UDRP was denied. In 2016, the current highest case is WIPO Case D2016-2392. The latest UDRP was for six  new gTLD domain names with the “Michelin” keyword in them.  Looking through the case list links from the past several years, it looks like the highest I saw was 2012. During that year, the highest case number was  D2012-2549. My guess is that the number of UDRP filings at WIPO  will set a record this year based on the current rate of filings.

In my opinion (as someone who observes the UDRP filings), the biggest increase in UDRP filings has come from

UDRP Filed Against Luma.com (Updated)

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screen-shot-2016-11-23-at-11-28-18-amAccording to UDRPSearch.com, a UDRP has been filed at the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) against the Luma.com domain name. This is case #1703756, and the UDRP was commenced on November 22.

Luma.com was registered more than 20 years ago in 1995. The Whois registrant information lists a “Luma” as the owner of the domain name, and the Whois address seems to match a California company with Luma in its name. A DomainTools Whois History search dating as far back as 2001 (the oldest entry) shows the domain name had been  owned by a Luma, Inc. back in 2001 and possibly longer. At the present time, Luma.com has a Network Solutions under construction landing page:

luma-com-domain-name

Because the UDRP was filed at NAF, I don’t believe the

Sold on Pheenix for $6k+, UDRP Filed Against FIFA.net (Updated)

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fifa-udrp

A UDRP was filed against the FIFA.net domain name at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The UDRP is WIPO Case D2016-2310.

When I saw the UDRP filing, I did a quick search to see how old the domain name is. I was a bit surprised to see a creation date of 2014. Because the domain registrar is Pheenix, I assumed the domain name had been auctioned at the expired domain name auction house. An article on TLDInvestors.com confirms this, and it shows that FIFA.net sold on July 30, 2014 for $6,030.

When I visited FIFA.net this afternoon, the domain name did not resolve. Because the domain name appears to be

30 Domain Name UDRP Filed by Sheryl Sandberg (Most Likely)

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nafIt looks like Sheryl Sandberg may have filed a 30 domain name UDRP at the National Arbitration Forum (NAF). Because the NAF does not reveal the name of the complainant until the UDRP decision is rendered, it is just a guess the Sandberg (or her representation) is the complainant in this UDRP. The UDRP is case #1701249.

Sheryl Sandberg is the COO of Facebook and a well-respected person in the field technology. In addition, Sandberg is an award winning author (Lean In), and she serves on a number of Boards of Directors, including Disney, SurveyMonkey, and some others others. Wikipedia reports that “Sandberg is reported to be worth over US$1 billion, due to her stock holdings in Facebook and other companies.” Sandberg is listed at #7 on the Forbes list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women for 2016.

Interestingly, it looks like the majority of the domain names in the UDRP are part of the new gTLD program. Also interestingly, the exact match SherylSandberg.com domain name is not one of the domain names including in this UDRP filing. That domain name is privately owned and is currently parked.

The 30 domain names that are a part of this UDRP filing are:

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