Workforce Software lost a UDRP against Workforce.com earlier this year. Now it’s suing.
Workforce Software, LLC has filed a lawsuit (pdf) after failing to get the domain name Workforce.com in a UDRP.
The company uses the domain name WorkforceSoftware.com. A human resources publication previously used Workforce.com. But another company acquired the domain name last year and rebranded as Workforce.com. That company competes with Workforce Software.
Workforce Software filed a UDRP earlier this year to try to get the Workforce.com domain name. It lost the case.
At the time, I wrote:
It will be interesting to see if Workforce Software takes this issue to the courts. While it’s not cybersquatting under UDRP, there might be a trademark issue. Then again, Workforce is a very generic word to use as a brand for workforce management software.
It’s interesting to read in the case that Workforce.com might have been the one that started this tiff. It filed a petition with the USPTO to cancel Workforce Software’s trademark registration for “Workforce Software” about a week before Workforce Software filed the UDRP. But perhaps there was more going on behind the scenes.
Workforce Software argues that Workforce.com is cybersquatting and infringing on its trademarks.
This is the danger of not owning the “best” domain for your company.
This is nonsense.
It’s not cybersquatting… It’s trademark infringement at best since it has been owned by the same entity who re-purposed the domain for a workforce logistics offering.
So now this Plaintiff wants to inappropriately throw around the “cybersquatting” word when it doesn’t fit this situation.
Even if they could prove trademark infringement, which is highly doubtful given the genericness, it would at most result in damages, but they would still get to keep the domain name.
If the defendant is wise, then they should counter sue for reverse hijacking under the ACPA.
USPTO is wasting both these companies money by allowing that horrible trademark in the first place. I see trademark #86133499 is pending cancellation, so at least it’s going in the right direction now.