In this case study video, I explain that some domain name disputes are just not appropriate for the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), and some UDRP complaints are so poorly drafted that they're destined to fail. In the video, I discuss why it's so important to properly evaluate a domain name dispute up front and then, if you do proceed, why it's absolutely essential to file the strongest possible complaint without taking anything for granted.
I focus on two cases in the video, each of which involved unusual but not unheard-of facts, for the domain names <rigminder.com> and <xtm.com>. The trademark owners lost both cases.
In the <rigminder.com> decision, the UDRP panel wrote:
Complainant repeatedly states that it owns the Domain Name, and that its own employees are refusing to release some passwords surrounding the Domain Name to Complainant. The Complaint does not provide details about the employees (plural) and their alleged refusal to release passwords to Complainant. Further, the Complaint does not set forth the circumstances surrounding the registration of the Domain Name, and so the Panel cannot determine whether the Domain Name was registered in bad faith.
And in the <xtm.com> decision, the UDRP panel wrote:
[T]he Complaint contains only the scantiest allegations, and the only proof offered in support of those allegations consists of a copy of Complainant’s USPTO trademark/service mark registration. The evidentiary record upon which Complainant asks this Panel to reach the conclusions necessary to justify transfer of the contested domain name to Complainant is therefore woefully lacking. This failure of proof is fatal to Complainant’s request for relief.
Both of these cases are good reminders that the burden of proof is always on the trademark owner filing a UDRP complaint and there is no such thing as a default judgment, which explains why the trademark owners lost these cases even though the registrant of the domain names didn’t bother to submit a response in either case.
As I’ve said before, that’s an embarrassing way to lose a UDRP case, so the lessons here are simple:
Always evaluate whether the UDRP even applies to a domain name dispute.
Never assume anything when filing a UDRP complaint.
Be sure to make every possible factual and legal argument to help ensure success.
