Alstom is a French Company that provides mobile solutions to boost sustainable transportation. The Company created in 1928 was initially called Alstom SA. In 1998, the company rebranded itself to Alstom.
The company was aggrieved over the registration of the domain name AlstomConstruction.ca. The Company thus filed a complaint at the Canadian International Internet Dispute Resolution Centre.
The Complainant claims that it operates in business through its two subsidiaries: Alstom Canada Inc. and Alstom Transport Canada Inc. The Complainant had acquired the trademarks over ALSTOM mark in May 2002.
The Complainant also claimed the usage of different domain names related to the mark. The Complainant has with it the domain names Alstom.com and Alstom.ca. These domain names were registered in January 1998 and January 2000 respectively.
The Respondent registered the disputed domain name in December 2018. The Respondent claims that the registered domain name is not its legal name. The Respondent presented ample proof of legitimate usage of the name.
The Respondent had stated it had legally carried out business through the Alstom Constructions in Ontario since 2013. The Respondent also presented a registered Business Number on the said name.
The Respondent contended that the name Alstom is the combination of letters belonging to its family members. The Construction mark was added to the name by the virtue of the Respondent being a Construction engineer.
Although the panel accepted the similarity of the mark with the Complainant prior registered trademark. The Complainant failed to prove that the Respondent had no legitimate business interest in the domain name. The Respondent through evidence proved that the used name was indeed its legal name and was known by it.
The Complaint was thus denied.
You can read the full case here.
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