The Registrant registered the domain name on November 15,
2012. The Complainant, 2757-5168 Quebec Inc., is in the business of designing,
constructing, planning and installing kitchens and has used its mark CUISINEACTION
on the Internet since January 7, 2004. The Panel found the Domain Name to be
confusingly similar with the Complainant’s Mark and registered in bad faith. The
panel held that an objective person could confuse the Registrant’s domain with
the Complainant’s mark, and the Registrant hoped to capitalize off consumer
confusion. The Registrant was using the Domain Name to criticize the
Complainant’s business, which he argued provided him with a legitimate interest
in the Domain. Although freedom of expression is an important right and is
non-commercial, it does not grant the Registrant the right to use a Domain Name
in such a manner. Even if the Domain Name consisted of good reviews of the
Complainant’s business, it would still cause confusion, and another Domain Name
could have been used by the Registrant. Note: I used Google translate to assist
in the translation of the decision.
You can read the decision here.
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