Category Archive

Panel: Respondent’s Prerogative to Seek Any Price it Wishes for a Generic-Word Domain Name Although the Panel ultimately rejected the claim for RDNH, the Panel did consider it – as is its duty to under the Rules where the facts so warrant, as was the case here. RDNH is a discretionary remedy and Panels have significant latitude in accepting or …

Does Res Judicata Apply to Refiled UDRP Complaints? Looking back at the original case, the Complainant’s arguments (as summarized in the second decision) do not seem to quite match what transpired there. The US trademark registration application was filed on the same day that the complainant’s domain name was registered, January 23, 2019.  The Complainant’s trademark registration application was filed …

“System Critical Updates Available” by Mr. Sten Lillieström It is not uncommon to believe that language is merely a set of arbitrary units that we learn by rote. That is perhaps the legacy view and the common idea. But at the heart of modern Linguistics are hard, unresolved questions about what is actually going on under the hood. And the …

An update to UDRP Perspectives was released on August 30th.  This version offers entirely new perspectives on Personal Names (1.9) and on Prior Business Relationships (3.9), as well as revised and expanded Perspectives on And not Or (3.1) and on Setting a Price and Offering for Sale (3.5).  This version also includes the addition of many recently published decisions and UDRP …

Nominative Fair Use – Favoring a Holistic Approach to the OKI Data Test This decision is one of a number of recent cases that have looked beyond the binary questions of items two and three of the venerable Oki Data test, i.e., whether a respondent’s website sells only the trademarked goods or services and not those of a complainant’s competitors …

Was the domain name registered in bad faith? Targeting vs. Constructive notice in the UDRP The Complainant relied on the two “App Science” US trademarks where the “app” element is disclaimed.  The Respondent argued among other things that: He registered the disputed Domain Name on November 15, 2018, for the purpose of starting a software consulting company in Texas; He …

Are Made-Up Word Registrations Defensible By Respondents? The issue of investing in ‘brandable’ domain names is a difficult one. As the Panel pointed out, “medaxis” is not a generic word or term, and “has the appearance of a trademark rather than that of a dictionary word or phrase”. Does that mean that it is “off limits” for a domain name …

Challenging UDRP Awards in an ACPA Action (Special Guest Article Series) CHALLENGING UDRP AWARDS IN AN ACPA ACTION: SOME PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS  It would be most unusual were there never any errors in deciding UDRP disputes. I’ll address these issues of error and “appeal” over several articles beginning here with some preliminary observations. Commentators have flagged a good number of errors …

 NEW: Introducing UDRP Perspectives! A new resource for panelists and practitioners prepared by UDRP Panelists and Practitioners, Igor Motsnyi and Zak Muscovitch who also serves as General Counsel to the ICA.  From the Introduction to UDRP Perspectives (located at www.UDRPPerspectives.org):  “UDRP Perspectives.org is where you can come to find a curated collection of up-to-date case law and commentaries on the …

Recording Now Available from the Inaugural Levine Lecture by Tony Willoughby:  We were honored to have Tony Willoughby deliver the inaugural Levine Lecture.  His insights and unique perspectives on the UDRP made for a compelling talk. We are pleased to announce that the lecture is now available online for you to watch at your convenience. Here is the link to the …