Some of the dumbest logic you’ll ever read in a UDRP.
A recent UDRP complaint brought by FTR of Bondues, France is so misguided that I have to use a juvenile messaging acronym to describe it. Yes, when you read FTR’s logic, you’ll be ROFLMAO.
FTR is a holding company that owns a number of subsidiaries, and also a trademark for LMC. It appears to be in the business of selling kitchen cabinets, light fixtures, and window coverings.
The respondent is Synopsys, a nearly $4 billion market cap technology company. Synopsys acquired the domain when it bought Logic Modeling Corporation in 1994. It now forwards LMC.com to Snyopsys.
So what was FTR’s logic that it should be awarded the domain? The panelist summarized it:
The Respondent does not own any rights in the LMC mark. Since the merging of the company, the Logic Modeling Corporation and the Respondent, the disputed domain name has not been used by the Respondent; instead the disputed domain name resolves to the website “www.synopsys.comâ€. The Respondent does not use the LMC mark, and does not hold a trademark for this term. Therefore the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name.
The disputed domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith, as the Respondent is prepared to sell it for USD125,000. This shows that the Respondent’s intent was to parasitize the activities of the Complainant and to take advantage of the sale of the domain name. The Respondent has not made commercial use of the disputed domain name in good faith. The Respondent has continued to renew the disputed domain name, however has never used it.
Due to the fact that both parties have been in communication earlier this year, the Respondent is unable ignore the existence of the trademarks. The Respondent has attempted to block an attempt by the Complainant to develop internationally, by preventing it from using the generic level domain “.comâ€. Together all of these elements show the bad faith of the Respondent’s actions.
Ah yes, Synopys’ grand plans have come to fruition. In 1994 it acquired Logic Modeling Corporation with a sole purpose: in the year 2010, it would be able to “parasitize” FTR’s business of selling kitchen cabinets and to prevent it from going international.
Amazingly, the panel did not find FTR guilty of reverse domain name hijacking on the basis that FTR did have a trademark for LMC.
Landon White says
Very Funny…
I heard through the grapevine that they were disappointed with the
WIPO Expedited Arbitration system.
But oddly, I think here we have a case of…
WIPO NO WACO….ON THIS ONE! lol
P.S. Sometimes i dont think the UDRP
gearbox has a Reverse :-0
M. Menius says
The momentum continues to build such that ICANN must put this issue at the very forefront of their agenda.
Confidence in the UDRP is being destroyed. Companies are being needlessly inconvenienced with UDRP misuse.