Second lawsuit filed after UDRP decision.
The legal expenses are mounting on this one.
Urban Home, the California furniture maker that filed a UDRP on UrbanHome.com, has now filed a federal lawsuit in California to try to get the domain name.
The suit is in response to UrbanHome.com’s owner, Technology Online, filing suit in Nevada to halt the transfer of the domain name.
The WIPO panel found in favor of Urban Home. Technology Online decided to sue to stop the transfer.
I’m not sure what Urban Home’s angle for filing in California is. Although it may be an acceptable jurisdiction, it still agreed to be subject to the Nevada jurisdiction when it filed the UDRP.
There are a number of facts that need to be determined in this case. One is when Technology Online acquired the domain. Another is how strong Urban Home’s trademark is. Its suit claims it has “vigilantly policed and protected its rights and interests in and to the URBAN HOME trademark…” Yet it didn’t file for a trademark on the term until 2011 and didn’t go after the domain UrbanHome.com until December 2012.
Urban Home’s web address is ShopUrbanHome.com, so it’s no wonder it wants the better UrbanHome.com domain.
Funny, last I checked their are about a dozen tld extensions, why own go after the .com, thieves…
WIPO’s decision to transfer the domain to the claimant shows how much they side with the claimants. Trademark or not, any real estate agent could rightfully use urbanhome.com since it is two generic words that location and type of business.
Selling homes in urban areas can be done by any real estate agent or home builder.