When commercial or private entities see their trademarks in use by some third party, UDRP complaints are filed. Based upon procedures, a decision is made on who gets to keep the domain name. This is a common scenario. However, seldom does a complainant reach the Forum twice for the same domain name!
Camco Manufacturing, LLC is an international company that manufactures and sells products related to ATVs, RVs, boats, camping, plumbing, etc. Established in 1968, the company had earlier approached the Forum over the domain name CamCo.com. However, the complaint was denied. The party reached the doors of Forum again for the same domain.
The complainant presented that the case was ‘refiling of an action’. The complainant claimed common law rights over the CAMCO mark. Post the previous verdict, it had registered several trademarks related to the mark as well. The complainant, thus wanted the domain name to be transferred.
The respondent is a domain name investor. The domain name was registered in September 2003. The respondent claimed that the domain name was a part of its investment to buy names that end in ‘co’. It presented different domains such as Cheapco.com and Glassco.com, to establish its claim.
The panel noted that the trademark registration doesn’t restrict everyone from using the mark. The rights are constrained to a limited class of goods. At the time of registration of domain name, there were many companies that used the mark in concern here. Hence, the complainant can’t be granted exclusive access. The respondent presents legitimate use of domain names such as that of CheapCo.com. The complainant thus failed to prove bad faith on the part of the respondent.
The complaint was denied.
You can read the complete case here.
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