Corporate attorneys aren’t always the best PR people. Take the folks at telecom provider BT Ireland.
BT Ireland found out about the web site BTIrelandSucks.com. Clearly the domain was set up as a gripe site. Very few people visited the site. But then BT Ireland sent a cease & desist letter to the owner. The owner laughed it off and the press picked up the story. Now thousands of people are hitting the BTIrelandSucks.com site and reading the owner’s gripes about the company. Whoops.
Of course, BT Ireland will lose its UDRP dispute. “Sucks” added to a domain usually results in a victory by the original owner, unless they clearly bought the domain to extort money or profited from the domain. Only a few rogue arbitrators have sided with big companies in these cases. And Adam Beecher, who owns BTIrelandSucks.com, made this clear to BT Ireland in a letter:
Dear Rosannagh,
I acknowledge receipt of your letter, posted below. Good luck with that. Perhaps if your company had tried to engage me as a customer rather than try to threaten me, this site wouldn’t exist. Now it’s just going to grow.
If you have any spare time between threatening people, you might want to do a little research into UDRP stats, in particular decisions applied to -sucks domain names. They traditionally go to to the respondent.
Ramiro Canales says
Andrew,
The outcome of a “sucks” case will depend on many factors, including the forum a complainant uses to prosecute his complaint, the composition of the panel, and the evidence presented. The majoriy view at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is that a “sucks” case can be identical and/or confusingly similar to a trademark. Of course, the complainant must also prove that the respondent does not have a legitimate interest in the domain name and that it was registered and is being used in bad faith. One example where the complainant was able to prove all three elements was the decision regarding the domain name walmartsucks.com.
Recently, the National Arbitration Forum issued a decision regarding the domain name kbhomesucks.com. In that case, the single panelist found that the addition of “sucks” to the “KB Home” trademark could not be identical and/or confusingly similar to the trademark because the general public would not associate the domain name with the trademark holder. Additionally, the panelist found that the respondent had a legitimate interest in the domain name because he was using it for noncommercial purposes. Finally, the panelist found that the offer to sell the domain name to KB Homes was not evidence of bad faith.
Domain name law can be complicated. A complainant who seeks to file a complaint with WIPO or the National Arbitration Forum should consult an attorney with a background in trademark law and the decisions issued by the arbitration panels or risk a finding of reverse domain name hijacking. A respondent who feels he legitimately acquired the domain name and is using it in good faith should respond to a complaint to avoid a default ruling.
Ramiro Canales
Attorney at Law
Austin, Texas
Editor says
Ramiro, these are all good points. I think one of the mistakes someone can do when creating a gripe site is to put advertisements on the page – such as Google Adsense – because this can frequently show that it is being used in bad faith (i.e., to earn money, not complain about the company).
Neal Allen says
I think more people should be allowed to air their views about bad practising customer services provided by BT.Ireland, If I was aware I would have never of signed up, just hope they allow me to go back to eircom.
This is a very nasty company I have only spoken to one member who can conduct himself professionaly. Rgds Neal