Celgene Files Lawsuit After It Lost a UDRP with RDNH

In February of this year, I wrote about Celgene’s UDRP filing against the CellGene.com domain name. The three member WIPO UDRP panel not only ruled against Celgene, but the panel found that the UDRP was a case of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH). The domain registrant was permitted to keep the domain name.

Following this UDRP loss, Celgene has apparently filed a cybersquatting lawsuit, according to Life Sciences Intellectual Property Review. Here’s what the publication wrote about the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) lawsuit filed by Celgene:

“In the suit, filed at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia yesterday, May 29, Celgene claimed that cellgene.com was an example of “typosquatting” or “cybersquatting”, a process where a domain name is created with a typographical error to closely imitate a more reputable website.”

I believe the requirements to prove cybersquatting in a ACPA lawsuit are different than the UDRP requirements. I am not sure if the UDRP / RDNH decision will have any sort of impact on this federal lawsuit.

One thing I still find interesting is that the domain registrant had allegedly been willing to sell this domain name for $7,500 (according to the UDRP decision) and Celgene had been willing to buy it for $2,000. With this lawsuit, both parties are going to have substantial legal fees, and I suspect the cost will be much, much higher than $7,500.

I am not a lawyer, but I would imagine the domain registrant will file counterclaims against Celgene in the lawsuit, citing the RDNH finding from the UDRP decision.

Thanks to Josh Bourne for sharing this news via LinkedIn.