Another valuable three letter .com domain name is the subject of a UDRP proceeding at the World Intellectual Property Organization. A UDRP was filed against IVI.com, and it is WIPO Case D2017-2240.
The owner of IVI.com is WebMD, a publisher of health news and information. IVI.com was created over 25 years ago, in June of 1992. When I visited IVI.com this morning, the domain name did not resolve for me. It looks like WebMD and/or a related entity has owned the IVI.com domain name since the 1990s.
The company that filed the complaint is listed as Equipo IVI SL. A Google search for that entity showed me a website with the homepage title, IVI-RMA is the largest Assisted Reproduction group in the world. That company operates on the inferior IVI-Fertility.com domain name, and that company’s Legal Notices page showed the corporate name of Equipo IVI SL. It looks like the company also has the inferior ccTLD, IVI.es. It is understandable that the company would want to have IVI.com.
I am sure it must be frustrating to operate on a lower quality domain name when the exact match .com domain name isn’t being used any longer in a visible manner. However, I don’t understand why the complainant thinks it can prove all three aspects of the UDRP, which is a requirement to win. From what I can see, it will be very tough to prove that the domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith. That being said, a UDRP decision can sometimes go in favor of the complainant (see IMI.com UDRP decision ).
Unlike the IMI.com UDRP proceeding where the domain owner did not respond, I would be shocked if WebMD and/or its parent company didn’t respond. WebMD has been around for a long time, and the company certainly knows its domain names are valuable assets. Having the domain name registered at MarkMonitor should also be helpful to them, as it would be unlikely that the UDRP notice would be overlooked.
As with all UDRP filings against valuable domain names (especially LLL.com domain names), I will be monitoring this one.
Update: The complaint was denied and the domain registrant will keep the domain name. Interestingly perhaps, WebMD did not respond to the UDRP.
This is nuts, so many meaning, this can go on day after day, you need a legal fund with every 3L.com you buy now.
What a joke. Will be fun to watch them get a lesson.