Raja.com Subject of UDRP (Updated)


This afternoon, I noticed that a UDRP was filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization against the four letter Raja.com domain name. The UDRP is WIPO Case D2019-1680, and it looks like it was filed this week. According to a translation tool I used, the Hindi word Raja means King in English.

The Raja.com domain name was created in August of 1995, making it almost 24 years old. The domain name is currently parked via Sedo. You can see a screenshot of the landing page below. I do not see the domain name listed for sale via Sedo though.

The domain name appears to be registered to a registrant from Mountain View, California named Raja. In looking at DomainTools’ Whois History tool, the oldest historical record archived is from 2003. At that time, it appears that the domain name was registered to the same person who owns it now. It is very possible the domain name was registered to the same person for an even longer period of time.

At this time, I don’t really know who filed the UDRP. On the WIPO website, the complainant is listed as “Raja,” which is quite unhelpful. Google has hundreds of millions of results for a search of “raja,” and even LinkedIn has nearly 300,000 results for “raja,” with over 1,500 company results for “raja” alone. The only thing on the landing page that I can see that would get me to possibly guess the registrant is a link for “RAJAPACK,” as there is a company called that in the UK. However, it looks like the complainant name is different, so I really don’t know.

A complainant will need to prove the domain name was registered AND is being used in bad faith to win the UDRP. If that is really the case, I don’t understand why it has taken so long for the complainant to file the UDRP. If that is not the case, the UDRP should fail because proving registration and usage in bad faith is one of the three components that is required.

Unless there is more to the story that I can’t see, I do not see how the complainant is going to win this UDRP. The fact that I can’t even identify the entity that filed the UDRP pretty much shows just how generic the word “raja” is. I will keep my eye on the UDRP and share an update when it is decided.

Update: Domain registrant won the UDRP but Reverse Domain Name Hijacking was not discussed in the decision.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

11 COMMENTS

  1. IMHO the Complainant is Raja Group, a French packaging group: http://www.raja-group.com/
    If you check the items on the landing page you see an ad with “Rajapack” … which is the name of many of the Group’s companies … 😉

    • I mentioned that possibility in the article.

      That being said, the company is called Raja Group but the complainant is simply called Raja, so I am not sure why there is a discrepancy. WIPO usually publishes the full name of the complainant.

      • The French company (holding) name is RAJA, and they have some word TM on the term “RAJA” at least since 1988.
        RAJA is their full name.

        • Ahh… got it – thanks.

          Will be an interesting case, especially considering the registrant’s name seems to be Raja.

        • Actually their word TMs on the term “RAJA” date back at least to 1978, for the packaging business (Nice Class 16).
          Let’s see what the panelists will say about the screenshot with the “RAJAPACK” ad …
          Parking with ads this type of names is always a bad idea …

        • Has there been any cases earlier where the domain owner got sued under WIPO and won and then sold that domain for a higher price?

          Just a conspiracy theory here…

          What are the chances that the WIPO case is self imposed and the case gets them free publicity and they win the case and sell the domain at a higher price..

  2. Has there been any cases earlier where the domain owner got sued under WIPO and won and then sold that domain for a higher price?

    Just a conspiracy theory here…

    What are the chances that the WIPO case is self imposed and the case gets them free publicity and they win the case and sell the domain at a higher price..

  3. This is interesting one to see…of course no full details for now…

    The RAJA is a very widely used name in India…millions will be having this name.

    it definitely more regional and country specific name… but if TM is registered somewhere else and for other purposes then they will have advantage I believe.

    Lets see what happens next.

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