Tuesday, March 25, 2014

#252 - wallythompson.ca - TRANSFER GRANTED

The Complainant established his case and the Panelist transferred the Domain Name to the Complainant. The Registrant did not respond to the Complaint.

The Complainant, whose personal name is the domain in question, is an insurance professional and Vice-President Client Relationships & Business Development at Manulife Financial Affinity Markets.  He is also a Canadian resident. The Registrant was a customer of Manulife and was unhappy with a decision made by the Complainant. The issue for the Panelist was whether a personal name could be the subject of a complaint under the Policy.

The Panel found that the Complainant promoted and developed good will in his name over a long period of time (over 15 years).  As a result, his name had become a trade name and the Complainant had acquired common law rights over the mark WALLY THOMPSON.


The Panel found that the Registrant intended to cause harm to a trademark holder, for no legitimate purpose and as a result had met the requirements of bad faith under the policy. The Panelist found that link to adult web sites in order to tarnish the Complainant’s reputation is an element of bad faith. 

You can read the decision here

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