WIPO panel finds complaint against DigiMedia.com was brought in bad faith.
Legendary domain name investor Scott Day’s company DigiMedia.com has won a charge of reverse domain name hijacking against a Dubai company.
Prime Pictures LLC filed the case in an attempt to get the domain name CinemaCity.com.
But DigiMedia.com had registered the domain name way back in 1998, about 7 years before the complainant used “CinemaCity” in commerce. That clearly means the domain name wasn’t registered in an attempt to harm the complainant.
The three person World Intellectual Property Forum panel found Prime Pictures guilty of reverse domain name hijacking, saying its counsel should have been aware that its case was doomed before it even began.
In the present case, the Complaint correctly identified that the Domain Name was registered in 1998. Given that the earliest date of any registration or use of the mark relied upon in the Complaint was in 2005, the registration of the Domain Name could not have been in bad faith on any interpretation of the facts and cases cited in the Complaint.
The Complainant is represented in this proceeding by legal counsel who has evidently examined the UDRP and a number of cases decided under it, which are cited in the Complaint. Any reasonable investigation would have revealed that there was a fundamental weakness in the Complainant’s case, in that there was no basis in the Complaint and cases cited therein for alleging that the Domain Name was registered in bad faith.
DigiMedia.com was represented by John Berryhill.
What is scary is the inconsistency of UDRP decisions : “In all the circumstances, the Panel finds that the Respondent does not have any rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Domain Name” because the domain was parked.
Other panels have decided that parking was legitimate…
I think making money is great. I think being creative and contributing something useful is even greater. I think making/taking money from striving/broke creatives who want to contribute something useful but can’t afford the domains because unproductive, money grabbing speculators have bought them all up, is sad. They’re like bankers who create nada… wouldn’t want to date one or team up with one to create something actually beneficial or necessary on the planet.
It’s ironic to make a comment about “money grabbing speculators” on a post about DigiMedia. After all, the company has built many of its domains into full-fledged businesses.
@ms lala: “bought them all up”. Wrong. There are billions of names available for registration. Billions. Take one and shut up. Simply because a name you COVET is taken by someone else is hardly legitimate basis for a false moral authority judgment with respect to what someone else does with property they paid for. Wise up whiner.
No one wants to date you either “Ms. Lala”. Do you feel the same about real estate speculators? Someone owns a prime lot on the beach near where I live that I sure would like. Think you can stop by and give the owner a lecture on morals for me?
Another cheap ass reverse domain name hijacking johny come lately moron got their ass kicked.
Nice job Sir, congrats
“I think making/taking money from striving/broke creatives who want to contribute something useful but can’t afford the domains because unproductive, money grabbing speculators have bought them all up, is sad.”
@ ms lala land
I think I would like to move into your house as yours is better than mine, would you please move out asap.
Thank you