#240 - cana-med.ca - TRANSFER GRANTED

The Complainant produces medical marihuana under the name CANNIMED, a trade-mark registered on August 6, 2004 that has since become closely associated with the complainant, the sole supplier of medical marijuana in Canada. “Cana-med.ca” was registered on December 20, 2010.  Since approximately July, 2012, the Domain Name had been used to direct visitors to a website which advertises itself as a seller of medical marijuana.

The complainant alleged that the Domain Name was confusingly similar to its mark. The panel noted that despite differences in spellings, Domain Names can be found to be confusingly . In this case, since the Domain Name both looked and sounded similar, it was confusing.

The Panel found that, since visitors to the Domain Name were referred to a web page where medical marihuana was offered for sale, a reasonable inference could be made that the Registrant registered the domain name to direct internet users to the Registrant’s website by creating a likelihood of confusion for commercial gain.

The Panel further found that, by using the Domain Name to sell products which are the same as those being sold by the Complainant in association with its trade-mark, the Registrant demonstrated a lack of good faith.   

You can read the decision here.