Friday, April 27, 2012

CDRP SUMMARY #185 - westernricemills.ca (transfer granted)

The Complainant established its case and the panelist therefore directed the transfer of westernricemills.ca to the Complainant.

The Registrant (Third Planet Foods (note: Kevin Chiang is the administrative contact)) responded to the Complaint and disputed the Complainant’s version of the facts. The Complainant has been providing rice products and marketing services since its incorporation in 1964. The Complainant consented to the registration of its Domain Name by Kevin Chiang (responsible for corporate development and marketing for the Complainant). Chiang and the Complainant had a falling out in November, 2010 (approximately 10 years after registration of the Domain Name) and the Complainant has not been given access to its website by Chiang since that time. Despite Chiang’s argument he is the rightful owner of the Domain Name based on an agreement with the Complainant, the Panel found he registered the site in bad faith [in part because he changed the registrant information to Third Planet Foods (a mark owned by the Complainant and registered in 1996)].   

CDRP SUMMARY #184 - hmvcanada.ca (transfer granted)


The Complainants established their case and the panelist therefore directed the transfer of hmvcanada.ca to the Complainants. 

The registrant (Michael Mateescu) did not respond to the Complaint. HMV (IP) Limited and HMV Canada Inc. are well known throughout the world for their association with music and associated goods and retail services (including DVD’s, headphones and books).  The HMV related trade-marks were registered as early as 1989. The Registrant registered the Domain Name (hmvcanada.ca) in September, 2011. The Registrant responded to Complainants’ cease and desist letter by offering to “modify” his website rather than transfer the disputed Domain Name to its rightful owners. The section 3.5 (c) analysis will assist rights-holders given the Panelist’s acceptance of famous marks and the failure of registrants to provide any rational explanations for the registration of Domain Names containing reproductions of these marks.

Note: the section 3.5(d)/4.1(c) regarding disclaimers is also noteworthy– a disclaimer on a website cannot legitimize an illegitimate domain name registration.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Football fans rejoice: NFL partners up with Nike and New Era Cap


2 brilliant moves made by the NFL starting in April, 2012: 

1 - All the jerseys and on-field gear worn by NFL players will be manufactured using only the highest quality materials by Nike

2 - Hats worn by fans and players around the world will be made by New Era Cap – the leader in style and swagger for every major professional sports league

Check them out at:


Tuesday, April 3, 2012

CDRP SUMMARY #183 - Etro S.p.A. v. Robert A. Segarra (Transfer granted)

The Complainant established its case and the panelist therefore directed the transfer of etro.ca to the Complainant. The registrant (Robert A. Segarra) did not respond to the Complaint. Etro S.p.A. is an Italian corporation that has been active in the fashion industry and registered its ETRO trade-marks in the 1980’s. The Domain Name was being used by a photographer and pointed to his website, www.rasphoto.com/fashion. Given that the Registrant was a photographer and working in the fashion business, the Panelist found it was highly unlikely he would have been unaware of the Complainant’s marks at the time he registered the Domain Name in 2003. This section 3.5(d) analysis will assist rights-holders given the Panelist’s inference that the purpose of the Domain Name registration seemed to be for commercial gain and to drive internet traffic to the www.rasphoto.com website.

Click here for the full decision .

CDRP SUMMARY #182 - General Motors LLC v. Tony Wilson

The Complainant established its case and the panelist therefore directed the transfer of cadillacxts.ca to the Complainant. The registrant (Tony Wilson) did not respond to the Complaint. General Motors LLC has numerous trade-marks registered and applied for in Canada, including CADILLAC (registered) and CADILLAC XTS (applied for). The Domain Name was not being hosted on any server and therefore did not resolve to any active website. Despite not actively using the Domain Name, the panelist found that the Registrant chose to adopt the Domain Name where the prominent component was the world-famous CADILLAC trade-mark in itself an indication that the Registrant is intentionally attempting to attract, for commercial gain, the attention of Internet users. This section 3.5(d) analysis will assist rights-holders when proceeding against Registrants with inactive Domain Names. 

Click here for the full decision.