In order to secure their brand people fence their names and related services with different layers of trademarks. This is done to minimize the chances of someone trespassing one’s trademarks through legal loopholes. However, sometimes even that is not enough.
Sometimes even owning multiple trademarks could not secure your Brand or Domain Name. Cloudfm Group Limited, United Kingdom. The Company knocked WIPO’s door for arbitration against the domain name CloudFM.com. The Complainant here owns three different trademarks in relation to the domain name in question. It has two trademarks over ‘CLOUDFM’ and one for CLOUDFM GROUP registered in September 2014. The Complainant operates on the domain name CloudFMGroup.com.
The domain name was first registered in February 2009. The Respondent acquired the domain name in March 2020, through an online auction. The Respondent also showed examples where it has invested in a number of similar domain names with the term FM in it.
The Panel pointed out that although the domain name in question isn’t being in use today, it cannot be called to be done in Bad Faith. The Respondent didn’t register the domain name to benefit from the Complainant, not particularly.
The Complaint was thus denied.
You can read the full case here.
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