The Complainant established its case and the panelist
therefore directed the transfer of mobil1lubeexpress.ca to the Complainant.
The registrant (Wally Akhras) responded to the Complaint. Exxon
Mobile Corporation (“Mobil 1”) uses their trade-marks in association with
numerous petroleum products and related services, including lubricating oils. The MOBIL trade-mark was used in Canada as
early as 1934. The MOBIL 1 LUBE EXPRESS
mark was publicized in Canada in 2006. There
were 2 significant interpretations of the Policy by the panel. First – despite
the MOBIL 1 LUBE EXPRESS trade-mark registration occurring after the Domain
Name was registered, the Panel accepted the argument that the definition of
Rights is no longer restrictive - and “common law” rights ought to be included.
The panel also accepted Exxon’s arguments that the Registrant’s conduct after
the registration can be taken into account when assessing bad faith as it
relates to the registrant’s intention to attract, for commercial gain, internet
users to the Registrant’s website (paragraph 3.5(d) of the Policy). This case
is worth reading as there was a previous relationship between the parties that
was terminated and an apparent offer to sell the Domain Name to Exxon for $1,000,000.00
that factored into the Panel’s decision.
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