The panel was designed to protect corporate interests, nothing more. Highly encourage reading :
http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2000/d2000-0044.html
Here's a passage from this case which may be relevant to this decision:
"The panel is thus unwilling to draw the inference that offering the "toefl.com" domain name for sale on a publicly accessible website to any party willing to pay its price constitutes an offer to sell the domain name to the Complainant or to a competitor of the Complainant. Certainly the Complainant and its competitors are potential purchasers. However, if the drafters of paragraph 4(b)(i) of the Policy had intended to broadly cover offers to any and all potential purchasers as evidence of bad faith, it would have been a simple matter to refer to all offers to sell the domain name, and not offers to sell to specific parties or classes of parties.
This does not, however, end our inquiry regarding the element of bad faith, since the Policy indicates that its listing of
bad faith factors is without limitation. Thus we must still ask whether a general offer for sale in the circumstances of this case constitutes bad faith use of the domain name.
In light of the undisputed record in this proceeding, the Panel concludes that the
Respondent did in fact register and use the "toefl.com" domain name in bad faith. It has made no use of the domain name other than to offer it for sale at a price that is likely to substantially exceed its out-of-pocket costs of registration, and the price that the domain name commands would largely be based on the trademark of the Complainant. Although a supplemental, as opposed to competitive, user of the domain name might be willing to pay the price sought by Respondent, there is no reason based on the record to award this price to Respondent. The Respondent was the first-to-register, and in circumstances of legitimate registration and use this may secure its right to the domain name. However, because Respondent is contributing no value-added to the Internet โ it is merely attempting to exploit a general rule of registration โ the broad community of Internet users will be better served by transferring the domain name to a party with a legitimate use for it.
The Panel finds that the
Respondent has registered and used the domain name "toefl.com" in bad faith, and that the Complainant has thus established the third and final element necessary for a finding that the Respondent has engaged in abusive domain name registration.
7. Decision
Based on its finding that the Respondent, TOEFL, has engaged in an abusive registration of the domain name "toefl.com" within the meaning of paragraph 4(a) of the Policy, the Panel directs the registrar to transfer the domain name to the Complainant, Educational Testing Service.
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As you can see from this previous case, they don't think too kindly of domainers and regard us somewhat like cybersquatters.
