SOG.com domain name saved in UDRP

Domain owner acquired it as an investment ten years ago.

A three-member National Arbitration Forum panel has ruled in favor of the domain name owner in a dispute over the domain SOG.com.

SOG Specialty Knives and Tools, LLC, which uses the domain name SOGKnives.com, filed the dispute.

The owner of the domain name purchased it as an investment ten years ago for $33,146.85. It was one of many three-letter domains he bought as an investment at the time.

As you can imagine, a number of people have inquired about buying the domain name over the years. In fact, the domain owner says that a marketing director of the complainant inquired about buying the domain name shortly after the current owner bought it.

The panel wrote:

Speculating in and trading in generic domain names can be a perfectly permissible and bona fide use under the Policy.

and

Especially given that the Domain Name is composed solely of a common three-letter combination, absent direct proof that the generic Domain Name was registered solely for the purpose of profiting from Complainant’s trademark rights, there can be no finding of bad faith registration and use.

For some reason, the panel did not consider reverse domain name hijacking.

Patchen M. Haggerty of Perkins Coie LLP represented the complainant. Zak Muscovitch represented the domain name owner.