Category Archive

Three-Letter Domain Value Cannot Overcome Direct Evidence of Targeting The Respondent relied on a principle familiar from numerous UDRP decisions: A short three-letter domain name may have substantial inherent value independent of any particular trademark, and acquiring such a domain for that inherent value can constitute a bona fide registration. The difficulty for the Respondent was not the validity of …

 View recording here Cultural Heritage & Mythology in Domain Name Disputes: Legitimate Interests, Bad Faith, and Targeting by Bart Van Besien  What happens when a domain name is identical to a trademark, but the same word is also the name of a mythological figure or otherwise forms part of cultural heritage? Both trademarks and domain names frequently draw on names …

Perfume Company Tries to Take P&G’s Domains Through the UDRP; Gets RDNH Instead This is a well-reasoned decision that reaches the right result, and the RDNH finding in particular is a model of how the analysis should be done, grounded squarely in what the Complaint itself disclosed. Our one substantive observation concerns the element the Panel chose not to decide. …

Panel: UDRP Panels Are Not Pricing Boards This is an exemplary decision, and one that domain name investors and their counsel will be citing for some time. The three-member Panel, presided over by Professor Frederick Abbott, addressed each of the Complainant’s theories directly and disposed of them with a clarity that leaves little room for doubt. The result is a …

From AI-Generated Complaints to Hallucinated Precedents and AI-Generated Evidence: Emerging Issues in Domain Name Disputes Article by Mr. Stefaan Meuwissen, Knowledge Lawyer I.P. at Hogan Lovells International LLP Artificial intelligence has become a routine feature of proceedings under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). Both complainants and respondents now use AI to draft pleadings, identify legal arguments, generate or …

Chronological Barrier Defeats French Real Estate Firm Over 25-Year-Old Surname Domain  The chronology in this case was dispositive, and the Panel treated it accordingly. The Respondent registered the disputed Domain Name in July 2000, fourteen years before the Complainant obtained its first trademark registration in 2014. Under WIPO Overview 3.1, section 3.8.1, where a domain name is registered before a …

Descriptive AI-Branded Mark on Supplemental Register Dooms Complaint This decision is noteworthy for two reasons. First, the Panel reaffirmed that neither the renewal of a domain name registration nor its transfer from an individual registrant to a corporation under the same ownership constitutes a new registration for UDRP purposes. The Complainant’s attempt to characterize a 2026 Whois “updated” date as …

Panel: A “Textbook” Case of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking This decision is noteworthy for two reasons. First, the Panel reaffirmed that neither the renewal of a domain name registration nor its transfer from an individual registrant to a corporation under the same ownership constitutes a new registration for UDRP purposes. The Complainant’s attempt to characterize a 2026 Whois “updated” date …

Ordinary Words, Same State, No Targeting The most significant aspect of the decision is the Panel’s refusal to infer targeting merely because the parties were both located in Arizona and both offered consulting-related services. While those facts might support further inquiry in a trademark infringement action, they did not relieve the Complainant of its burden to prove bad faith registration …

A Google Search Could Have Avoided This RDNH Finding The most noteworthy aspect of this decision is the Panel’s emphasis on a complainant’s obligation to conduct a reasonable pre-filing investigation. The Panel found Reverse Domain Name Hijacking not merely because the Complaint failed, but because readily available information would have revealed that the claim had little prospect of success. Continue …