A company called Pet Plan Ltd. filed a UDRP against MyPetPlans.com at WIPO. This company has filed many successful UDRPs to protect its intellectual property, so it’s not a big surprise it took issue with this particular domain name. The complainant lost the UDRP proceeding but ended up getting control of the domain name despite this. The UDRP is WIPO Case No. D2021-0062.
The domain registrant did not submit an official response to the UDRP. Instead, upon receiving notice of default, the domain registrant told WIPO, “This dispute has been resolved via Nominet and the domain has been transferred to the complainant.” Presumedly because the UDRP was already paid for, the respondent’s preemptive decision to hand over the domain name did not cause the panel to terminate the UDRP or simply decide in favor of the complainant.
In fact, the complainant lost the UDRP. It wasn’t by just a little bit either. The panelist felt that the domain registrant may have had rights and/or legitimate interests in owning the domain name. The panelist also ruled the domain registrant did not register and use the domain name in bad faith. It was a resounding victory for the domain registrant even without filing an official response.
Although the domain registrant gave up the domain name, the consolation may be that the complainant will not likely litigate the case since the domain name was handed over. Had the registrant kept the domain name and the complainant been aggressive, litigation may have followed the UDRP costing more money and potential serious financial consequences.
