Whether you may be a grown adult or a 4 year old baby, there is one thing common between them. The likeness towards the uncontrollably catchy song ‘Baby Shark’. The video intended for little kids is currently the most watched video on the internet. However, did you know the makers of the video had to contest a UDRP battle for their domain name?
WIPO heard a dispute regarding the domain name BabyShark.com. The Complainant was Smart Study Co., Ltd. The Complainant is a Korean educational entertainment company. The Complainant became popular when one of its videos by the name of ‘Baby Shark’ went viral. Tech Complainant also makes animated series for a global audience.
The Respondent had acquired the domain name via an auction in June 2020. The domain name at the time of dispute was used for Pay per Clicks. The platform also proposed that the domain name was up for sale. When contacted by the Complainant, the Respondent quoted a price of $100,000.
The Court claimed that although the terms in the domain name were generic in nature, the registration of the domain name was done in bad faith. Pay per click usage does not qualify for Fair usage. Moreover, the amount of money and the timing of registration do suggest that the registration of the domain was done to extract benefits from the Complainant.
The panel asked the domain name to be transferred.
Read the full case here.
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