The Complainant owns the LUMILEDS registered trademark (registered
after the date of the Domain Name registration) but alleges it commenced use in
Canada since 2001. The Registrant (based
in Quebec) also uses the LUMILEDS trademark in Canada (he combined Lumiere (French
translated word for Light) and LEDS (light emitting diode in plural), and
started his business, Lumileds Inc., after he searched CIPO, and noticed that
the Complainant had abandoned the LUMILEDS trademark in Canada.
The Complainant delivered a cease and desist letter, but the
matter did not resolve between the parties.
The Panel refused to decide whether the Registrant had a
legitimate interest in the Domain (on the question of whether the legal name of
the Registrant must exist at the time of the registration of the Domain Name –
since it incorporated Lumileds Inc. after it registered the Domain Name).
Instead, the Panel found that the Domain Name was not
registered in bad faith. The Panel was
unable to conclude that the Complainant had been using the mark as of the date
of the Domain Name Registration (or that it asserted trademark rights prior to
a later-dated 2014 LUMILEDS trademark application). Additionally, the Panel found that the Registrant
had a disclaimer on the site and, despite being competitors, arguably was not
trying to drive traffic away from the Complainant’s business. The Panel found that there are competing
claims for trademark and domain name rights, which is outside the scope of a CDRP
proceeding.
You can read the decision here.
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