Complaint filed against a .med backer.
Here’s an interesting UDRP case that attacks an applicant for the .med top domain name.
The domains in this dispute are aboutdotmed.com, supportdotmed.com, and thedotmed.com.
The complaint was filed by DotMed.com, Inc. I wrote about DotMed.com back in January when I revealed 115 trademark applications for potential top level domains.
The respondent is HEXAP, which is working with AFNIC to secure the .med domain name.
What makes DotMed.com interesting is that it’s an actual store for medical supplies that has been around for over a decade. But recently it decided to file trademarks for .med for use as a top level domain. This is a very different use than an online medical store.
World Intellectual Property Forum is hearing the case. It should find in favor the respondents, as DotMed.com can’t possibly have any existing trademark rights for the use in which the respondents are using e the domains. Clearly, the respondents have rights or legitimate interests in the domain names.
The Drip's Edge says
I can just see the new gTLD extensions fighting existing sites and vise-versa.
What a clusterf*ck ICANN invented and imposed on the Internet business community. Now we all get to sort it out with UDRP and lawsuits.
Lawyers: Fire your engines!!! (An prepare you bank accounts for lots of cash injections) Be sure to send ICANN a bottle of wine as gratitude.
The U.S. Commerce Department and the U.S. Government are just sleeping at the wheel regarding ICANN and their corrupt ways of doing business.
Also, the NAF and WIPO are rubbing their greedy little fly hands together waiting to approve every UDRP that comes their way so they can make lots of grubby, dirty money.
steve says
I plan to sue winners for 5 of the tld’s. It is called payback.
Matt says
I’m no lawyer so I could have this completely wrong, but in my small experience with trademarks, the fact it is a domain name vs trading name isn’t the issue, it’s that someone could reasonably confuse the company with the trademark “DotMed” as being related to any domain using the “.Med” domain. Because they are both highly internet-related and medical-related means that confusion could be more likely to occur.
I don’t agree with all the top-level domains being issued and I don’t think it will benefit anyone as much as the issuers and is actually just a way to allow companies with the same name to all get a domain and line the pockets of the issuers.
That aside, this sounds to me like DotMed actually have a good reason to pursue it, but they’d better have big pockets to pay the legal fees as the issuer stands to make a bucket-load if the TLD goes ahead so I can’t see them pulling out of a fight.
word unscrambler says
it great! thank!