French company wanted the .com to go with its .fr domain name.
John Berryhill has successfully defended the domain name Kosmos.com on behalf of Sahar Sarid’s company Ashanti PLC.
Complainant Kosmos SAS is an education technology company that uses the domain name Kosmos.fr.
It incorporated on April 3, 1998. The domain name was registered the following day (not by Ashanti, which acquired the domain later).
The complainant never bothered to inquire about buying Kosmos.com until it was ready to enter the North American market in 2014. At that point, it tried to buy the domain name but was unhappy with the asking price. It told Ashanti’s broker that “We still maintain the offer and would be really happy if one day it holds your attention”.
But then I guess a lawyer took a look at it and suggested filing a UDRP. Kosmos’ lawyer must not have a good grasp on domain names, because the complaint has some silly arguments.
For example, it argued that Ashanti’s use of ClientTransferProhibited (registrar lock) was evidence of bad faith. I’m not sure how using a common security measure for a domain name is evidence of bad faith.
It also tried to argue that Kosmos isn’t a dictionary word. But the Complainant submitted evidence to the contrary in its own complaint. It submitted an interview from 2003 of one of its founders. In that interview, he said that “kosmos” is a Greek word denoting the harmonious universe.
Oops.
The three-person panel found that the domain name was not registered in bad faith.
Acro says
A lot of Greek words end up becoming trademarked in the US, the most famous one being Nike. Another one is Oikos, if you’re a yogurt fan.
Kosmos denotes the world, universe, society and the people. Good to see John Berryhill prevailing.
Meyer says
Theo, I first thought you were going to say this.
(smiling)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL9whwwTK6I
Spencer says
B-b-b-b-but valuate says this is a trademark issue and 7/10 possibility of success. Hahaha.
I own a descriptive 2 word that valuate says is worth $0 because of a trademark. Annoying because I know they are wrong but their algo still shows a risk that isnt there,
Anyone know who I can write about this? I would like it removed.
John Berryhill says
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzS39oghcnY
Acro says
Indeed. The letter “K” (kappa) is used for all instances of that same sound in Greek words. So it’s Kosmos, vs Cosmos. An issue with trademarks, perhaps, but it’s the same word.
John Berryhill says
Yeah, but I never understand why Greeks spell things with mathematical symbols.
Mookie says
Sahar the squatter is back!!!
Steve says
Kosmos is a great name. Could be a great mark for a space flight company. Robotics company. Entertainment and more.
Could someone explain to me the rationale for a company, and in this case, the French company Kosmos filing a UDRP to try to obtain Kosmos.com from the current owner.
Kosmos is a brand used by many companies – energy, marketing, and more.
As mentioned, Kosmos is a generic word; i.e,, cosmos.
How could the complainant claim “bad faith”? Not possible.
The domain Kosmos.com is for sale, but it does not have links or ads promoting online education service offerings.
It seems like many companies file UDRPs, hoping to get lucky with a no-response or a pie-in-the-sky favorable decision.
It’s just a bad business decision to file complaints like this, when the chances of winning are so small. Makes zero sense.
I’m sure the following question has been addressed before, so please excuse me for asking, Why shouldn’t losing parties, in this case, Kosmos. fr, be responsible for paying the legal costs of the defendant?
Meyer says
Part of the problem is mis-information.
A lawyer or business associate will tell them they have rights to a domain and didn’t need to buy it for an amount larger than out of pocket cost.
Approximately one month ago, I was selling a 4 letter .org (one word) which would be used by an organization. The deal was almost done after a week of negotiating when the buyer came back demanding a much, much lower price or he will take it to arbitration. I am positive he did not know anything about UDRP a few hours before demanding a lower price. It is generic word people use daily. Obviously, the deal died. There was no going back after his mind set. I suspect he feared he would be making a mistake.