An Australian hospitality software company, Redcat Pty Ltd, attempted to take control of the domain name redcat.com, but a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) panel ruled against it, deeming the attempt a reverse domain name hijacking.
The domain redcat.com was registered 29 years ago by a man in Oregon, who has used it for email communications and is also registered as the owner of the name "Redcat" with the state. Despite claiming to have been in business for over three decades, Redcat Pty Ltd failed to provide evidence supporting this assertion. In fact, their online presence seems to have emerged after the domain was registered.
Initially, Redcat Pty Ltd approached the current domain owner to purchase the domain, but there was no response. They also cited a previous case that does not appear to have existed, which raised further questions about their claims.
The three-member panel, consisting of Nick Gardner, Neil Brown, and Lynda Zandra-Symes, concluded that the complaint should not have been filed. They noted that the Complainant did not understand the complexities involved in proving bad faith registration for a domain name that had been established 29 years prior and was a combination of two common English words.
The panel’s statement highlighted that the complaint was inadequate and did not properly consider the relevant facts or the standard of proof required for a credible case. Furthermore, the panel pointed out that the Complainant misrepresented their trademark registrations, which were obtained recently, and did not clarify that their internet presence began five years after the domain was registered.
The decision concluded that if Redcat Pty Ltd had sought competent legal advice before filing the complaint, they would have recognized their limited chances of success. Ultimately, the panel agreed with the domain owner that Redcat’s actions were made in bad faith and constituted an abuse of the procedural process. The domain owner was represented by Law Works LLC.
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