Wednesday, February 13, 2013

#221 - arcelormittal.ca - TRANSFER GRANTED



The Complainant is a combination of Luxembourg steel companies Arcelor and Mittal, who merged in 2007 to collectively become the largest producers of steel in the world. The Registrant NETNIC Corporation Protective Registration Services registered the Domain Name on behalf of an anonymous “Registrant”.  The Registrant registered the domain name on June 26, 2006, the day after the merger of Arcelor and Mittal was announced. The Registrant argued that the Complainant had no rights in the name until the official merger in November 2007. However, the panel found that rights in the combined names were transferred immediately to the successor the day the merger was publicized (regardless of the fact that the mark was not in use), and therefore, the Complainant had rights in the name the day before the Domain Name was registered. The Registrant also claimed that it had a legitimate interest in the Domain Name as it was holding it as the nominal power for a beneficial owner. The Panel viewed this argument as a disclaimer of any interest, and the Panel cannot consider whether a purported beneficial owner, who is not a Registrant, has a legitimate interest in a Domain Name. Lastly, a Registrant is required to be the named owner and keep the registration of the Domain Name true, complete and accurate. The Panel found that the Registrant did not do so - in order to conceal the existence of a beneficial owner which it found to be an act of bad faith.

You can read the decision here

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