 |
| Live-Right, LLC: Waaaaahhhhhhh! ______________________ |
In an important 16 July 2015 UDRP
decision, Respondent Vertical Axis (Kevin Ham) and law firm Esqwire.com successfully
defended BabyBanana.com in a potential domain name grab by Complainant Live-Right,
LLC.
In an age in
which just about every term is trademarked for one thing or another, this is an
important decision in favor of domain investors, especially long-term holders
of domain names who renew their domain names.
The Complainant
argued that renewing BabyBanana.com constituted “bad faith”; in a strongly worded statement, the three-member
panel (Diane Thilly Cabell, Beatrice Onica Jarka, and Hon. Karl V. Fink, Retired)
roundly rejected that claim:
“There is no evidence that the renewal of
the domain name was anything more than protecting an existing investment.”
This is a case
well-worth keeping in mind; domain investors can only hope that a body of
precedent will stop this nonsense of frivolous UDRP filings.
Additionally, the
panels ought to include more Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH) rulings with hefty
fines attached, monies to be distributed to the Respondent.
Hit frivolous
filers where they live: their pocketbooks!
One important
point to remember: a long-term holder of a domain name can still lose a UDRP; “bad
faith” can also include shady use of a name, for example, parking the domain
and filling it with the Complainant’s ads, creating scam sites, or cloning the
Complainant’s website.
Thanks to TheDomains for this tip.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Word verification has been enabled to circumvent spammers, not to censor bona fide posts. ;=)
I welcome your comments!
Ms Domainer
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.