Does having trademark rights over a term constitute that you have rights on every domain name related to that term? Does that you mean you can file a complaint on Dispute Resolution platforms and get the domain name. Let’s see.
Today, we discuss a case that has similar connotations. In this case, the complainant is Platinum Luxury Auctions LLC, which is a real estate auction firm. The firm owns the mark over the term LUXURY AUCTION in USPTO. This was registered in Oct 2016. The company contested over two domain names LuxuryAuction.com and LuxuryAuctions.com.
The respondent did not submit a response. But, it was duly noted that these domain names were registered in Aug 1998. This is way back than when the Complainant acquired the trademark rights over the term.
The panel noted that although the Complainant has trademark rights over the term. The registration of the domain name by the Respondent can’t have been in bad faith. As at that time, there was no trademark related to the domain name to benefit from. The panel also pointed out that the terms in question were generic. Such names are distributed on a first come first serve basis.
The Complaint was denied. Read the full case here.
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