Domain disputes with the dead
Recently, WIPO published its decision on a rather unusual domain dispute. French publisher Société Du Figaro SA, which owns the newspaper Le Figaro, was rejected in its claims to the domain figaro.tv.
The domain figaro.tv was registered in the name of a German citizen Stefan Blumtritt from the company "Cut company". But its owner died last year, and at the moment no one controls him. The French company notified WIPO about the unfortunate event and appealed to her with the requirement to transfer her rights to the domain figaro.tv. According to her, after the death of the domain owner, there are no legal grounds for him to be in the hands of third parties.
However, Daniel Kraus, a member of the WIPO commission, refused the French newspaper on the grounds that Figaro was a popular male name in Italy, and its owner did not post any information related to Le Figaro. Consequently, he did not violate any intellectual property rights. However, some members of the WIPO Commission could take the opposite decision.
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Interestingly, after losing a domain dispute, some experts gave very unethical advice: you should not notify WIPO that the domain owner has died. The fact is that if the defendant does not contact either the claimant or WIPO for a long time, in most cases the domain rights are transferred to the claimant - even if his claims can be challenged.
This is not the first such case.
In 2011, Avomex, the producer of Mexican guacamole dish under the brand name Wholly Guacamole, tried to select the domain WhollyGuacamole.com after its owner died.
The domain was registered in 2004, its owner Barry Pierce died in 2006, and the Wholly Guacamole brand was registered in 2007.
The company blamed the widow and son Barry Pierce for the fact that they extended the domain registration after the Wholly Guacamole brand was registered, and also that they did not change the Whois data after the death of the previous owner. According to representatives of Avomex, this is enough to accuse the new owners of the domain in the illegal use of their trademark.
Here the plaintiff was also refused, but the dispute itself lasted for quite a long time. It was good for the owners of the domain that it was registered much earlier than the trademark and consists only of vocabulary words, as well as the fact that before the complaint to WIPO the company tried to buy the domain from its owners, but found the amount offered for it too high.
So the topic itself - to whom the rights to the domain will be transferred in the event of the death of its owner - remains debatable. Another problem is the possibility of unscrupulous companies to use this to select a domain as part of the UDRP procedure.
The domain figaro.tv was registered in the name of a German citizen Stefan Blumtritt from the company "Cut company". But its owner died last year, and at the moment no one controls him. The French company notified WIPO about the unfortunate event and appealed to her with the requirement to transfer her rights to the domain figaro.tv. According to her, after the death of the domain owner, there are no legal grounds for him to be in the hands of third parties.
However, Daniel Kraus, a member of the WIPO commission, refused the French newspaper on the grounds that Figaro was a popular male name in Italy, and its owner did not post any information related to Le Figaro. Consequently, he did not violate any intellectual property rights. However, some members of the WIPO Commission could take the opposite decision.
')
Interestingly, after losing a domain dispute, some experts gave very unethical advice: you should not notify WIPO that the domain owner has died. The fact is that if the defendant does not contact either the claimant or WIPO for a long time, in most cases the domain rights are transferred to the claimant - even if his claims can be challenged.
This is not the first such case.
In 2011, Avomex, the producer of Mexican guacamole dish under the brand name Wholly Guacamole, tried to select the domain WhollyGuacamole.com after its owner died.
The domain was registered in 2004, its owner Barry Pierce died in 2006, and the Wholly Guacamole brand was registered in 2007.
The company blamed the widow and son Barry Pierce for the fact that they extended the domain registration after the Wholly Guacamole brand was registered, and also that they did not change the Whois data after the death of the previous owner. According to representatives of Avomex, this is enough to accuse the new owners of the domain in the illegal use of their trademark.
Here the plaintiff was also refused, but the dispute itself lasted for quite a long time. It was good for the owners of the domain that it was registered much earlier than the trademark and consists only of vocabulary words, as well as the fact that before the complaint to WIPO the company tried to buy the domain from its owners, but found the amount offered for it too high.
So the topic itself - to whom the rights to the domain will be transferred in the event of the death of its owner - remains debatable. Another problem is the possibility of unscrupulous companies to use this to select a domain as part of the UDRP procedure.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/212479/
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