UDRP Empire Flippers LLC v. BuySellEmpire.com (before NAF)

[cyberlawyer]

A UDRP was brought by US based Empire Flippers LLC against a competitor Jamkain Media Ventures, owner at "BuySellEmpire.com", alleging misuse of rights in the word 'Empire', while in the same line of business of buying and selling of online businesses.

The Complainant owned trademark rights in 'Empire Flippers' as a whole and not just Empire. While the Respondent argued as to legitimate interests in the domain name, due to generic nature of the words contained in the domain name.

The Complainant showed ignorance as to existence of the business at the disputed domain name. The Respondent produced evidence as to communication between the parties in 2018 itself. Therefore, in uphelding legitimate interests and denying the complaint, the panelist noted:

In the meantime, Respondent invested significant amounts of time and money building its business at the disputed domain. Although laches is not a defense to a UDRP action, Complainant’s two-year delay in filing the Complaint undermines Complainant’s claim of obvious trademark infringement and supports Respondent’s contention that its use of the disputed domain name was bona fide.

I represented the Respondent and were able to successfully defend the matter. Read the complete decision @ https://www.adrforum.com/domaindecisions/1925050.htm [NAF FA2012001925050]

Noted by Mr Gerald M. Levine as one of the noteworthy decisions of 2021
@ https://iplegalcorner.com/noteworthy-domain-name-decisions-for-2021/

Close Case: Complainant’s Lack of Evidence (1/21/2021)

Empire Flippers, LLC v. Ansh Gupta / Jamkain Media Ventures, FA2012001925050 (Forum January 27, 2021 (<buysellempire.com>)

“Because the question of Respondent’s rights or legitimate interest in the disputed domain name raised a close question, the Panel wants to be clear about the limitations of this conclusion. The Policy provides a streamlined, efficient administrative proceeding for adjudication of certain domain name disputes. Proceedings under the Policy do not provide the parties with the opportunity to take discovery, and do not provide the Panel with the opportunity to assess credibility through live testimony. For these reasons, the Panel is ill-equipped to make a conclusive finding on whether Respondent’s domain name actually infringes Complainant’s trademark rights. If the parties were to engage in litigation, Complainant might be able to develop sufficient evidence to persuade a fact-finder that Respondent did infringe Complainant’s mark, and this decision does not foreclose such a remedy. However, Complainant has not carried its burden of making that showing on this record. Specifically, Complainant has failed to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Respondent’s use of the disputed domain name to offer brokerage services was not bona fide.”

 

[AEProgram]

Great job, I despise these types of lawsuits and will never do business with empireflippers.com its a big shame that most likely they didn't have to pay anything for the extreme stress and financial costs these lawsuits can cause.

 

[cyberlawyer]

Thanks !

Yes in addition to the financial costs, the UDRP causes stress due to Jurisidction issue. Herein, the domain name was at Godaddy LLC (during the UDRP process), so in case of an adverse decision the Indian domain registrant was suppose to file an appeal at the principal office of Godaddy at Scottsdale, Arizona, USA in 10 working days time, which in many cases becomes almost impossible to do so, given both the costs and time constraint.

 

[Niche Investor]

Empire Flippers is a notorious company. They recently came under SEC investigation for selling fraudulent sites to their investors. They are facing a court case filed by US court appointed receiver of 'Today Growth Consultant' Company after FBI started investigating matter of Income Store.
The SEC investigation found that they sold crappy sites to buyers and took money for several multiples.

See here for this: matter: https://www.pacermonitor.com/public...The_Income_Store_v_Empire_Flippers,_LLC_et_al
or here: https://www.chicagotribune.com/busi...0200206-cckq4pp4ffbufkmj7t46ycfy3q-story.html

I would suggest anyone to be little more cautious while using them or even avoid using them entirely untill this investigation is over.
Didn't knew this company also indulges in UDRP claims to bring down competitors. You did a great job defending your client.

 

[Joseph Magnotti]

Hi there, Joe Magnotti, CEO, and co-founder of Empire Flippers here. First off our response to the frivolous lawsuit brought against us:

https://empireflippers.com/income-store-scam/

As you can see we never sold "crappy sites" and we can prove it. Mismanagement and unethical/illegal behavior by Ken Courtright and Income Store are to blame here. We have offered to give back all fees we made on selling the sites if the receivership agrees not to take any legal fees. Other brokerages should stand up and do the same.

@Niche Investor I encourage you to come forward and use your real name and associated company. We already have an idea who you are, so anonymous posts like this won't get you anywhere.

@cyberlawyer I wish you had come to me personally or communicated through our lawyer before posting publically on a forum like this. While the UDRP ruled against us, it's fairly obvious that your client Jamkain Media Ventures, owner at "BuySellEmpire.com" did intentionally use the Empire Flippers mark to play off our goodwill. I imagine there are many customers who came your client's way confused that they were actually speaking to Empire Flippers. But perhaps we can let a higher court decide.

I encourage anyone reading this to set up a call with me directly. I'm happy to discuss the lawsuit, UDRP complaint, the marketplace, or digital assets in general. My calendar:

https://app.hubspot.com/meetings/joemagnotti/go