I was browsing the recently filed UDRP cases at the National Arbitration Foundation, and I noticed quite a few separate UDRP filings containing the Hewlett Packard HP brand in them. It looks like HP decided to go after quite a few “generic” HP-related domain names in the past month or so.
Some of the recent HP UDRP filings at NAF include:
- HPDrivers.com
- HPDownloads.com
- HPUpdates.com
- HPServices.com
- HPPrintersSoftware.com
- HPStorage.com
- HPShop.com
- HPInkJet.com
- HPServer.com
- HPLaptop.com
- HPCalculator.com
- HPInk.com
- HPDriver.com
- HPDrivers.org
- HPMobile.com
- HPNotebookComputer.com
- HPNotebook.com
The domain names appear to be owned by many different individuals and companies, and most of them appear to be parked. Not including these recently filed UDRPs, Hewlett-Packard has filed 57 UDRP complaints at NAF. I could not find any filings at the World Intellectual Property Organization.
I think this is the right thing for companies to do. People are using tradmarked names to make money off them.
Yep… These are some really good names that could be used by the company. It’s one thing when people own typos, but it’s another thing when someone owns a name that prevents a company from using it.
To be honest I am somewhat shocked this wasn’t done much earlier by hp. Now Elliot had shown names being parked. I agree 100 percent and its a bad practice.
I sell hp products and I had contacted hp a few months back in selling a generic .com name and I didn’t like there tone one bit. I realized they had one of the names that was plural and it didn’t even forward to there site. Was just sitting since 1999 or so.
Now here is a twist.
Hptoner.com should be owned by hp. Bad practice.
Hptoners.com is used by an office supply company and they sell hp toners. I don’t see a problem with this but maybe they should forward this name to hp toners on there site. I’m talking new toners not refilled toners or remanufactured cartridges which hp dislikes and competition imo.
Couple years back you have the brightest hitters in the domain field and Harvard educated people running the show over at a unknown place lol. They raise all this cash and buying trademark portfolios for traffic. Hint Verizon names and typos. They ended up taking big hits I’m sure on this so called fast money and traffic during the glory ppc parking and it back fired on them big time. Bad press for all of us as well who are trying to do things right and educate small businesses in values of names. You go to a party and say I’m a domain owner, a few will think were just like this big company and how wrong we are in owning names even if you own the most generic names and not involved in this practice.
Either way, hp deserves there names that are parked. The hptoner.com example should be kept by this small independent dealer imo and who sell hp products everyday.
To clarify
Hptoner.com is forward to a seller of hp products
Hptoners.com should be owned by hp
I don’t think its bad practice for resellers who sell only there own products to have trade marked names if its 100 percent pushing the manufactures stuff and a disclaimer at bottom of page saying there a seller of hp products.
Sorry for confusion. Late in the evening hours.
My guess is that only someone relatively new to domaining would register domains like these. Or maybe someone from a rogue country that doesn’t abide by international laws or customs.
Received a C&D about a month ago and didn’t hesitate to transfer. I acquired a few HP domains from another HP products dealer in 2002 when I was also an HP dealer. I left the IT products business in 2007 so I stopped using them and left them parked for the past few years.
Back in 2002 owning these domains wasn’t a problem and Hp didn’t bother dealers who were using the names to sell HP products directly. Maybe they still don’t. But they certainly don’t have any investment value from the domaining perspective.
I believe the lag in the C&D and UDRP process from HP these past 10 years is due to the legitimate use by dealers who did high volume traffic under the names in the past. Of course there are many other factors but clearly parked pages are not what HP is looking for when it comes to brand recognition.
I have a great contact who is very high up at HP. I advise anyone to gets an HP claim that unless you have some legitimate use, work with them asap. Otherwise you may be very sorry. Their General Counsel does not screw around.