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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