In January, I reported that a company called Lorenzo International had filed a UDRP for the domain name, Lorenzo.com. This domain name is owned by Tucows and is a part of the company’s NetIdentity suite of first and last name domain names, some of which have been the subject of successfully defended UDRP filings in the past.
According to the discussion in the UDRP decision (not yet available online), the company’s usage of Lorenzo.com is legitimate, and the complaint was denied. From the UDRP decision:
“there is no evidence that the Respondent’s continuing use of the domain name in the same way in connection with its Personal Names Service is not bona fide. The Respondent states that it was not aware of the Complainant or of its claim to trademark rights until it received the Complaint. The Complainant has therefore demonstrated that prior to any notice to it of the dispute it used the disputed domain name in the bona fide offering of its services.”
Based on prior results of similar cases, it’s not really surprising to me that Tucows prevailed in this UDRP. As a domain owner, it’s frustrating to see another UDRP case filed where one company thinks it has more rights to a descriptive domain name than the registrant.
A three person panel with Desmond J. Ryan AM, Dan Hunter, and David E. Sorkin ruled on this UDRP decision. Tucows was represented by AlvaradoSmith.
Now if Tucows can only sue for lawyer fees and court costs
I would call the judgement a complete success.
Lorenzo.co was registered already…