A UDRP was not too long ago filed in opposition to the precious Tips.com area identify on the National Arbitration Forum (NAF). The choice was simply published, and the three member panel dominated in favor of the area registrant who will retain the area identify. The registrant was represented by lawyer Zak Muscovitch.
A fast look on the UDRP may make an investor suppose this could be a slam dunk case for the area registrant, however I don’t suppose that was the case. In reality, this can be a prime instance of the significance of hiring a great lawyer for a UDRP protection.
When I used to be in school, it was a requirement for all members of fraternities to get alcohol coaching. Our school required us to all grow to be “TIPS educated,” and the complainant reportedly has trademark rights to the TIPS time period associated to alcohol. In the criticism, the complainant cited this trademark and famous that the area identify reportedly had alcohol-related ppc hyperlinks on the touchdown web page:
“Respondent lacks rights and legit pursuits within the area identify. Respondent just isn’t generally identified by the area identify nor has Complainant approved Respondent to make use of the TIPS mark. Respondent doesn’t use the area identify for any bona fide providing of products or companies nor for any professional noncommercial or truthful use as a result of Respondent hosts a click-through web site and obtains income by advantage of third events clicking on hyperlinks posted on the web site. The first of Respondent’s 5 posted hyperlinks pertains to “alcohol coaching”. Clicking on that hyperlink results in different entities that present alcohol service coaching and schooling in competitors with Complainant.”
The respondent’s lawyer did a pleasant job defending the best of a website funding agency to personal a generic area identify like Tips.com even when a probably infringing ppc hyperlink was proven on the touchdown web page inadvertently. You ought to learn the total protection, however right here’s the abstract on the conclusion of the supplemental submitting by the respondent:
“Complainant depends solely on a single errant hyperlink 16 years after registration as a purported technique of forcing the switch of the precious dictionary-word area identify – instantly after it tried to buy it. Complainant has once more failed to deal with its ‘30 yr’ delay; its earlier try to buy the area identify; the ubiquity of the dictionary time period; the absence of any proof of notoriety or repute; and the absence of any proof of focusing on Complainant on the time of registration.”
Ultimately, the panel dominated in favor of the area registrant as a result of it’s a area funding agency specializing in generic dictionary phrase and acronym domains:
“The Panel accepts Respondent’s proof that it registered the area identify in 2006, along with many different dictionary-words, as a part of its professional enterprise of investing in generic dictionary-word and acronym domains and that, on the time of registration and previous to the submitting of the Complaint, Respondent was unaware of Complainant and its TIPS mark. Even assuming that Respondent’s use of the area identify in 2021 is unhealthy religion use and constitutes some proof of unhealthy religion registration in 2006, the Panel finds that proof outweighed by Respondent’s proof constituted by the declaration of Mr. Yikilmaz. Accordingly, the Panel finds that Complainant has failed to determine that the area identify was registered in unhealthy religion.”
This is a stable choice that can doubtless be referenced sooner or later.
https://domaininvesting.com/tips-com-udrp-complaint-denied/
