- Impact
- 273
Good, relevant read ... in the morning, IMHO!
the decision
" ... domain disputes are distinct from trade mark disputes and the principle of estoppel does not expressly apply to them. So with procedural matters out of the way, the three member panel went on to consider the merits of the case.
The UDRP is made up of three rounds and a Complainant must win all three to succeed. The first - the trade mark round - was straightforward in that the domains were identical to Starbucks-owned trade marks. The second - the legitimate interest round - was also clear-cut after the panel held that neither the word Starbucks nor Frappuccino is a descriptive term used in connection with coffee. As so, the panel decided:
"the use of either term for general commentary about coffee would not constitute fair use of a descriptive term to describe the nature of the content proposed for Respondent's website."
Finally, the Panel considered whether the domain had been registered and used in bad faith. To the panel it seemed:
"more likely than not that Respondent registered and used the domain names in an attempt to profit by selling the domain names to [the] Complainant and that the alleged purpose for registration is an afterthought or pretext."
So Starbucks won on all three rounds and domains were ordered to be transferred, thus ending a lengthy domain dispute; and waiting 6 years for a frapuccino must be a record, even for the Complainants."
Link: http://www.demys.net/news/2003/07/17_starbucks.htm
the decision
" ... domain disputes are distinct from trade mark disputes and the principle of estoppel does not expressly apply to them. So with procedural matters out of the way, the three member panel went on to consider the merits of the case.
The UDRP is made up of three rounds and a Complainant must win all three to succeed. The first - the trade mark round - was straightforward in that the domains were identical to Starbucks-owned trade marks. The second - the legitimate interest round - was also clear-cut after the panel held that neither the word Starbucks nor Frappuccino is a descriptive term used in connection with coffee. As so, the panel decided:
"the use of either term for general commentary about coffee would not constitute fair use of a descriptive term to describe the nature of the content proposed for Respondent's website."
Finally, the Panel considered whether the domain had been registered and used in bad faith. To the panel it seemed:
"more likely than not that Respondent registered and used the domain names in an attempt to profit by selling the domain names to [the] Complainant and that the alleged purpose for registration is an afterthought or pretext."
So Starbucks won on all three rounds and domains were ordered to be transferred, thus ending a lengthy domain dispute; and waiting 6 years for a frapuccino must be a record, even for the Complainants."
Link: http://www.demys.net/news/2003/07/17_starbucks.htm
= unwise (in this case). :p
