Union Bank loses cases against gripe websites

Former customer registered ten domain names to air grievances about the bank.

Union Bank has lost three domain name arbitration cases involving an upset former customer.

The bank filed three separate actions covering UnionBank.me, unionbancal.co, unionbank.cc, union-bank.co, mufgunionbankna.com, unionbancalcorp.com, unionbancal.net, unionbancal.org, unionbankna.com and unionbanks.net.

The domain names were all registered by William Bookout. At one point, his company had a Small Business Administration Loan with the bank. His loan went into default and he later filed bankruptcy, according to the decision. He was upset with how the bank handled his loan, so he created a number of gripe sites.

In each case, the World Intellectual Property Organization panel found that the domain names were being used as gripe sites, and that he had rights/legitimate interests in them. They were also not registered in bad faith.

Often times, a panel will not allow a gripe site that creates initial confusion. In this case, the domains don’t include “sucks” or another modifier, so someone who went to the domains might initially assume they are owned by Union Bank.

However, when both the complainant and respondent are in the U.S., WIPO panels typically state that the possibility of initial interest confusion does not automatically negate the Respondent’s rights or legitimate interests in a name. This is due to the U.S.’s strong protection of non-commercial free speech.