Wynn Resorts Holdings, LLC recently filed seven separate UDRPs at the World Intellectual Property Organization. From what I can tell, it looks like there are 253 domain names involved in these seven UDRP filings. The cases are WIPO Case D2019-1604, WIPO Case 2019-1606, WIPO Case 2019-1608, WIPO Case 2019-1713, WIPO Case D2019-1847, WIPO Case D2019-1855, and WIPO Case D2019-1858. Wynn has filed other UDRPs, but these are the most recent ones I noticed.
I found these UDRP filings peculiar because of the types of domain names that are included. Here are five domain names included in these seven most recent UDRP filings at WIPO:
- wynn138.net
- 9wynn.com
- wynnplay888.com
- wynnplay.com
- wynnplay57.com
Yes, Wynn probably has a good shot at winning the UDRP proceedings. Wynn is a famous brand name in the gaming and hospitality space, so they will most likely win the UDRP without sweating much (unless I am missing something).
That being said, I don’t really see the point in spending money on UDRP filings against domain names like these. A registrant could lose these domain names in the UDRP and simply go out and spend $10 to register WynnPlay12345.com or Wynn88888.com instead. It doesn’t seem like these domain names are special, but it does seem like similar domain names can easily be re-registered.
Even without considering any legal fees (or the time it takes if done by in-house counsel), it looks like Wynn paid more for the UDRP filings than these domain names cost to register! Someone could easily go out and register a bunch of other similar domain names, and Wynn will be in the same position in the future.
I am sure Wynn is not hurting for money, but it seems a bit silly to file UDRPs against worthless domain names like these . I would understand the idea of going after typo domain names or other Wynn + generic terms that could confuse visitors, but I don’t understand the strategy behind this. Perhaps someone with legal expertise can comment on the strategy of filing UDRPs on domain names like these.
A trademark holder has a responsibility to protect their mark.
I think it is smart business to be proactive when $$$ are not an issue.
It’s also a message to others to discourage them from registering any names with “Wynn” in them.
There’s no penalty for the registrant (beyond losing the names), so why would a registrant even care about this when they can go out and do it again?
I am sure Wynn spends a lot of money protecting its marks in other ways, too.
Agree with Elliot, as long as their is no financial penalty for either side, going after hundreds of names won’t send any message. Infinite TM+number combinations out there, plus all the nTLDs.. Can’t win this fight. This is simply a couple of legal eagles getting some well deserved extra money for their next trip. Maybe a personal favor from someone at Wynn to an outside legal company. Who knows. Money in the bank.
It may not be commonplace for a company to spend money on defending domains like this, however, I agree with Rick. I’m no lawyer, but I’d imagine that legal consequences could still potentially occur as a result of multiple UDRP by a single registrant, especially if there’s a history of it. My guess is that it’s likely just a proactive papertrail to anyone else thinking about registering similar domains.
Like Rick said, it’s important for a TM holder to protect their mark. Do you know if these domains are essentially owned by the same owner? Do they tend to go to the same landing page or a similar parked page?
Appears at least one of the domains – 9wynn.com – is passing itself off as an official Wynn site.
Because to the lawyers that are on retainer it justifies their existence. Simple as that.
Yes, Wynn may need to prove it has been enforcing its mark down the road if a major infringement occurs in the USA or overseas. 888 is well-known as a “lucky” and “casino” and “betting” number combo, so I understand this filing.