A case has been registered against me at WIPO

[kukkad]

Hi friends.

Could u help me out with this.

I had registered a domain name (X) and there has been a case filed against me by a company that claims that domain X is confusingly similar to their Trademark.

The Company had originally filed a complaint almost 8 months back but, they by mistake, in a single "Complaint Transition Letter to WIPO ( World Intellectual Property Organization) had named 3 registrants for 3 different domain names.

As per the rules for filing such complaints, a company has to first send a letter or an email to the registrant, requesting the transfer of the disputed domain name.

But, in this case, such a thing never happened. I a copy of the complaint and after around 5 days, I got a request from the Company to transfer the domain. I could not help. As, a copy of the Complaint had also reached my Registrar (Godaddy) and they had put my domain name on "Registrar Lock".

Godaddy also charged me around $29 to handle the complaint ( part of the Domain Name Registration Agreement ).

Later on, WIPO instructed the Company that they had filed the complaint in a wrong format and that only 1 domain name can be mentioned in the Complaint, whereas the Company had mentioned 3 different Domains and that to, against 3 different Registrants.

To this, the Company instructed WIPO to treat that Complaint only for 1 particular Domain name and drop the others.

But, the Company never sent a communication to my Registrar about this development. And, my Website continued under "Registrar Lock".

Further, I had sent many emails to the Company, to WIPO and my Registrar......... that the Complainant is not taking the case forward.

As I was named as a part of the email contact on the original complant, I used to get all the updates that WIPO used to send via emails.

And, I found out that......... one fine day....... I receive an email from my Registrar that they have removed the Registrar lock from my website.

And, now........ the Company has filed a complaint against me again. For the same domain name......... and again........ Godaddy has charged me $29.

Do you guys think I can win the case. On the basis that the Company had understood the law incorrectly ( Ignorance of Law is no excuse ) and that......... the Company knew that they had made a mistake and were standing on my tail ( My Website was Locked by Godaddy for almost 8 months.......... when infact, the Company had themselves told WIPO to drop the Complaint against my domain name in the original Complaint filed).

Please advice.

 

[nielsencl]

You have posted this message twice here and sent it to me via email. If you have sent this to everyone I think you are going a little too far in making your problem someone else's concern.

I am interested in your story, and may help if I can, but you need to realize that others may not be as upset about this as you are.

First, in order for anyone to be able to provide good advice, they would need to know all the facts. Without that the advice may not be the best for you.

What is the domain and what is the other company?

My understanding of how this works is that anyone that complains about a domain owner must be able to show that the domain owner has violated in 3 ways:

1) The domain is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark.

2) The domain owner has no rights or legitimate interests in a name.

3) The domain owner has registered and is using the name in bad faith.

If the company that files a complant cannot show that the domain owner has done these 3 things then the domain owner may not lose the domain, but I am not certain.

So without knowing what the domain is and what is hosted on the domain it is hard to say if you should fight this or not. I will tell you that if a company is "getting tough" and causing hardship for you, and it seems clear from the facts that it is unfair, then you should find many people that will provide support to you.

The two $29 fees from Godaddy are disturbing, as I had never heard about anyone being charged this before. But there are several things I don't like about Godaddy and this is just another one to me. I don't know the process and cost for a complaint to be filed, but if it is not much this could be used to harrass anyone that owns a domain with Godaddy. I would complain and even try to contact the Founder Bob Parsons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Parsons) about this practice of charging a customer twice for the same thing, as a result of someone causing problems for you.

So let us know your domain or your WIPO case number (http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/cases/all.html) and we can learn more about your case.

By the way, anyone with domains that may contain trademarks or brands should take a look at the cases that are listed at the above URL. You can clearly see some names that are likely to cause you problems if you own them. And it gives you an idea of the risk you take with some names.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Domain-Name_Dispute-Resolution_Policy

 

[Randall]

I do agree with Nielsencl's post. Without seeing a domain name the whole post is not giving any information. The scenario is interesting one but without domain no one can say which way the things will sway.

 

[kukkad]

I do agree with Nielsencl's post. Without seeing a domain name the whole post is not giving any information. The scenario is interesting one but without domain no one can say which way the things will sway.

Thanks Nielsencl and Nameslot Admin........

I have a new finding in this case and I hope you guys will, after knowing the details......... that my case will get better after this :-

Original Complaint had 3 domains listed in the Complaint Sheet :-

Domain X
Domain Y - My Domain.
Domain Z

Complainant then verbally communicated to WIPO to drop out Domain Y and Domain Z from the original Complaint and instructed them to carry on with just Domain X. Without communicating to my Registrar (Godaddy) and Godaddy continued to put "Registrar Lock" on my Domain........ in spite of the fact that "THERE WAS NO COMPLAINT AGAINST MY DOMAIN....... AS THE COMPLAINANT HAD THEMSELVES TOLD WIPO TO DROP MY DOMAIN (DOMAIN Y) AND DOMAIN Z.

I have documentary proof........ of having sent several emails to the Complainant, WIPO and Godaddy that the Complainant was not taking the case forward......... but, Complainant never even responded to any of my emails.......

In the new Complaint Sheet filed with WIPO, the Complainant's representative has clearly mentioned the fact that WIPO had told the Complainant about the fact that the original Complaint was in the wrong format and that only 3 domains cannot be filled in a single complaint as the Registrant for these 3 domain names were different parties.

To this, the Complainant replied to WIPO......... that they had verbally communicated to WIPO to drop the other 2 domain names from the Complaint. And that, the Complainant would file a new set of Complaint with WIPO for these other domains.

Now here lies a twist.

Domain Y - My Domain - Okie........ they did file a new Complaint

Domain Z - The third disputed Domain Name.
The truth is......... the third disputed domain name is available for registration. The last time I checked the status of this domain name, it was under "Pending Delete". This shows that the Third Registrant never renewed his Domain Name.

And........ the Complainant was not prudent enough to "Back Order" this Domain name. This is so so unprofessional.

The Complainant files a Complaint......... a wrong Complaint. Then communicates to WIPO that they will re-file a complaint which they never did. Never did they even tried to track it.

This clearly translates that the original complaint was filed for fun.

And, the Complainant had filed a complaint against me in the month of November that too after I was sending them several emails........ especially a new set of emails asking them as to why did they drop their original complaint against me......... when they had plans to file a complaint again.

I cannot let out the domain name as these days........... Nameslot's threads are being scaled by Google and other search engines and the Complainant might get a hang of these facts.

Thanks again.......

With the above new updates on this.......... do you give my case a higher rating.

 

[kukkad]

I do agree with Nielsencl's post. Without seeing a domain name the whole post is not giving any information. The scenario is interesting one but without domain no one can say which way the things will sway.

This is in continuation to my earlier thread.

The New Complaint filed by the Complainant was after I have been sending them "Reminder Emails"....... the Complaint was filed after I had sent them 10th Reminder.......... 1 Reminder email every day.

The text of the Reminder Emails was as under :-

Mr. XYZ (Complainant's Representative)

Make this clear to me :-

When your clients had taken up the issue of "Domian Y.com" with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)and sent me a notice through courier ( The Notice was signed by Mr. ABC ) on 15th Feb' 2007;.............

Why did you or your clients not take up the issue with WIPO and let the case drop.

And you guys are again threatening me to accept your demands.

I want a clarification on that......... ASAP.

The same email will go to each and every person to whom this email is going.......... as Reminders.......... daily......... till I get a justification on this.


Take care,

Kukkad.

 

[nielsencl]

You are providing more details, but the story is still the same, and the most important information is missing for us.

Why are you afraid the company may find this thread and your discussion about it? Most people create a web site to publish all the facts of their case to let everyone know. A small person like us cannot do alot against a company with lawyers and much money. This does not mean we can't do anything, and one thing that can be done is to get many, many people on your side. If the company is doing the wrong thing, it may be possible to get them to stop if they realize that the public is against them and it's bad for business. People can create web sites, contact the company, post to blogs, and so on. No one should tell lies, but the truth is stronger anyway.

I want to be on your side, but I cannot take any side without knowing the facts. So I cannot help in any way.

 

[Randall]

Hello friend to me it seems the company lawyers want to create more trouble for you. Or they have lots and lots of time on their hands because once they are dropping it and then again filing it.

Regarding the other similar domains X, Y and Z.

I will just focus on your domain name Y.

Even if Domain X is lost and Domain Z also loses [Which I think is already lost as it is going no where], Your case will be treated as a single case without any other similar incidents biasing it. Well as long as I know this is the only way to give judgments without any outside factors biasing the decision of the case. But don't know if the rules are different here.

Just one quick question though that the $29 is a loss 2 times that is just frustrating thing and the domain name is under registrar lock but I think it is still usable and you can also change nameservers, am I right?

If yes then forget about the case and just focus on your business and do stick with the original plan that you had when registering domain name. [If you registered it without the intention of bad faith or using to profit from the trademark]

 

[kukkad]

Hello friend to me it seems the company lawyers want to create more trouble for you. Or they have lots and lots of time on their hands because once they are dropping it and then again filing it.

Regarding the other similar domains X, Y and Z.

I will just focus on your domain name Y.

Even if Domain X is lost and Domain Z also loses [Which I think is already lost as it is going no where], Your case will be treated as a single case without any other similar incidents biasing it. Well as long as I know this is the only way to give judgments without any outside factors biasing the decision of the case. But don't know if the rules are different here.

Just one quick question though that the $29 is a loss 2 times that is just frustrating thing and the domain name is under registrar lock but I think it is still usable and you can also change nameservers, am I right?

If yes then forget about the case and just focus on your business and do stick with the original plan that you had when registering domain name. [If you registered it without the intention of bad faith or using to profit from the trademark]

Yes....... I remember doing that. It was under Registrar Lock. But, yet I was able to set up Hosting on that domain name.

The text on my Website reads as :-

A Case Has Been Registered Against Us With The "World Intellectual Property Organization" (WIPO), Switzerland.

We are awaiting a final judgement from WIPO.

In line with the above "Intellectual Property" related complaint, though we are working on the website, but our prospective clients would be able to view our website only after this case is resolved.

In the meantime, you can always write us at the following email address:-

info@domainname.com

-----------

Btw....... this text has been on my website within about a week after receiving the first Complaint from the Complainant ( and yes, after, Godaddy had put Registrar Lock ).

Do you think.......... putting that piece of text would help my case........... atleast........ I have not even parked it with Sedo........ unlike all the other domains that I own.

I will let out the name of the website on in here within a couple of days. I am drafting my Response that I am sending to WIPO. And, will update the disputed name in here......... the day I shoot the email.