Domain owner has been fighting since losing a cybersquatting case in 2022.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed a ruling that Automobili Lamborghini should get the domain name lambo.com.
Lamborghini won a dispute it filed under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) for the domain name in 2022. The owner of the domain, Richard Blair, filed a lawsuit to stay the decision.
The carmaker filed a motion for summary judgment in that suit, and the judge granted that motion in October 2024.
Blair appealed that ruling, and on Thursday, the appeals court affirmed (pdf) the lower court’s ruling.
Unless Blair appeals the case to the Supreme Court, this means the original UDRP order to transfer the domain will be processed.
Blair, who acquired the domain for $10,000 in 2018, had argued that he was known as “Lambo” and used that name as a username on the domain forum NamePros. However, he didn’t adopt that moniker until after he had purchased the domain name. It didn’t help his case that he asked $75 million for the domain name.
Courts consider many factors under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). Both the district court and appeals court found that the factors in Lamborghini’s favor outweighed those in Blair’s favor.
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