Complainants didn’t exist until 25 years after the domain was registered.
A World Intellectual Property Organization panelist has ruled (pdf) that two Brazilian real estate investment firms tried to reverse domain name hijack the domain trix.com.
It was a simple, dead-on-arrival case.
Trix Investimentos Ltda and Trx investimentos e participações ltda. filed the dispute against a computer engineer who registered the domain name in 1995.
The two complainants didn’t exist until 25 years later, so it was impossible that the domain was registered to take advantage of their trademarks. Thus, the domain was not registered in bad faith.
Panelist Assen Alexiev wrote:
In the present case, the Complainants were represented by counsel. The facts are that the Complainants and their trademark TRIX INVESTIMENTOS came into existence more than 25 years after the registration of the disputed domain name. This fact should have been appreciated by the Complainants and their counsel and they should have known that the Complaint could not succeed. Nevertheless, they chose to commence the present proceeding, which is sufficient to support a finding that the Complaint was brought in bad faith.
Wilson Silveira e Associados – Advogados represented the complainants, and Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP represented the domain name owner.
R Deas says
Silly Rabbits