The Complainant did not establish its case and the panelist
therefore dismissed the clevelandcyclewerks.ca Complaint.
The Registrant (MC Motorsports Canada Ltd.) responded to the
Complaint. The Complainant argued it became the exclusive distributor of CLEVELAND
CYCLEWERKS branded motorcycles, parts and accessories in April 2011 (culminated
by a License Agreement dated April 1, 2012).
However, the Registrant argued it had a prior existing relationship with
the licensor of CLEVELAND CYCLEWERKS branded motorcycles, parts and accessories,
and provided e-mails from the CLEVELAND CYCLEWERKS Licensor authorizing the registration
of the Domain Name and confirmation of its ownership thereof. The Panel did not find the Registrant
registered the Domain Name in bad faith, especially in light of the fact that
the text on the web site explicitly states the Registrant is no longer
associated with the Licensor. Of note: The Registrant included an application requesting
that the Panel exercise their authority and grant costs. The Registrant argued that the dispute was a
business dispute rather than cyber-squatting, the Complainant misrepresented
the relationship between the parties, and the Complainants recital of facts were
wholly inaccurate, amongst other things.
The Panel agreed with the Registrant and ordered $5,000.00 in
costs.
You can read the decision here.
