question Udrp-- Whats the ruling on owning a "county"?

[Hal Yaffe]

udrp-- Whats the ruling on owning a "county"?

Bought a domain that is virtually exclusive to a specific county in a state.

The city operates under a .us
I (now) own the .com

Any worries about a udrp?

I have another domain that matches a cities .com
I own the .io
For now....I forward my .io to their ,com and it's an undeveloped domain name asset...awaiting advice.

What are your comments as to owning a "county" and a "city" domain....

Hal

 

[tonyk2000]

Her Majesty The Queen is a reverse domain name hijacker:

https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2002/d2002-0754.html

The Domain Name is <newzealand.com>.

...

7. Decision

The Complaint is dismissed and the Panel upholds the allegation of reverse domain name hijacking

Tony Willoughby
Presiding Panelist

Gordon Harris
Panelist

Panelist
Milton Mueller

 

[Samer]

Great question, and i followed thread.

Samer

 

[Hal Yaffe]

Extremely helpful. TY

Note to self not to piss off the Queen.

So, the provenance sets the answer very clearly. Thanks

Hal

 

[tonyk2000]

Also:

https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/overview3.0/#item16

( WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Third Edition )

1.6 Can a complainant’s rights in a geographical term provide standing to file a UDRP complaint?

Geographical terms used only in their ordinary geographical sense, except where registered as a trademark, would not as such provide standing to file a UDRP case.

Geographical terms which are not used solely in a geographically descriptive sense (e.g., “Nantucket Nectars” for beverages) and which are registered as a trademark, would provide standing to file a UDRP case.

Panels have exceptionally found that geographical terms which are not registered as trademarks may support standing to file a UDRP complaint if the complainant is able to show that it has rights in the term sufficient to demonstrate consumer recognition of the mark in relation to the complainant’s goods or services (often referred to as secondary meaning).

Under the UDRP however, it has generally proven difficult for an entity affiliated with or responsible for a geographical area (which has not otherwise obtained a relevant trademark registration) to show unregistered trademark rights in that geographical term on the basis of secondary meaning.

[See also section 1.3.]

It is further noted that the Report of the Second WIPO Internet Domain Name Process ultimately declined to recommend specifically extending protection to geographical terms as such under the UDRP.

 

[tonyk2000]

I own the .io

Just in case, you may need to double check dispute resolution rules applicable in case of The British Indian Ocean Territory (.io) domains. Country Code TLDs often have different rules...

 

[CraigD]

When in doubt, check your countries trademark laws!

 

[pb]

UDRP is not even the worst that can happen. I once caught for a customer (not even for myself) a domain that used to host certain coutry's embassy site. A few days later I received an official letter from their ministry imposing a 5-year ban on me from entering their country. The ban has since expired but I'm still afraid to go there.

 

[pb]

Panels have exceptionally found that geographical terms which are not registered as trademarks may support standing to file a UDRP complaint if the complainant is able to show that it has rights in the term sufficient to demonstrate consumer recognition of the mark in relation to the complainant’s goods or services (often referred to as secondary meaning).

So for example bordeaux, champagne etc. can be taken away, because they are not only geo names, but also names for protected local products. But most geo names are basically safe.

 

[TheBaldOne]

Geo domains are presumed safe generally, however as explained above when you start adding products or services in the actual domain name then the game begins to get a little more risky. Let us say you had DryCleaningMontenegro.com then if there should exist a TM for 'Dry Cleaning Montenegro' you could be on a sticky wicket, even if your domain is similar to the trade mark and not exactly matching the trademark.

You should do trade mark searches when registering product/service + Geo (or reversed) just in case.

Just my opinion but would love @jberryhill to comment on this question.

 

[jberryhill]

Just my opinion but would love @jberryhill to comment on this question.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/trademark-question.1190358/

 

[TheBaldOne]

@jberryhill - Thank you for the link, that was a great read and very informative. Again, Thank You.

 

[WhoaDomain.com]

udrp-- Whats the ruling on owning a "county"?

Bought a domain that is virtually exclusive to a specific county in a state.

The city operates under a .us
I (now) own the .com

Any worries about a udrp?

I have another domain that matches a cities .com
I own the .io
For now....I forward my .io to their ,com and it's an undeveloped domain name asset...awaiting advice.

What are your comments as to owning a "county" and a "city" domain....

Hal

your .io I would not point it to the .com.

This can be tracked based on what websites are referring to them.

that can be misconstrued as doing something questionable.

I'm sure some on here will tell you. When trying to sell a domain to a TM holder or business. Never a good thing to point your domain to their business website domain. could always be confused as blackmail or extortion or whatever crazy like that....

maybe....I could be wrong but why take the risk?

I'd change that quick before it is noticed and recorded.

 

[WhoaDomain.com]

UDRP is not even the worst that can happen. I once caught for a customer (not even for myself) a domain that used to host certain coutry's embassy site. A few days later I received an official letter from their ministry imposing a 5-year ban on me from entering their country. The ban has since expired but I'm still afraid to go there.

was it Russia?