Domain name was originally registered as part of an alliance that later broke down.
A UDRP panel has found reverse domain name hijacking in a dispute over the domain name SladeGlobal.com.
Slade Shipping, Inc., filed the dispute against Nex Venture / Slade Shipping Far East Pte. Ltd.
The dispute arose out of a breakdown in an international logistics alliance that operated under the “Slade Global” banner.
The panel found that the domain was registered in 2014 as part of a collective venture in which the Complainant was a member. Evidence showed that all alliance members, including the Complainant, used @sladeglobal.com email addresses. In fact, the Complainant requested such addresses and used the domain in business correspondence.
Apparently, there was a later breakdown in the alliance.
Panelist Nathalie Dreyfus ruled that this history gave the Respondent legitimate rights in the domain name and showed that the domain was not registered in bad faith. She noted that the case was more of a contractual or commercial dispute than one suited for the UDRP.
The Complainant had already taken actions against the domain, including a DMCA that got the site taken down.
Given that the Complainant knew the domain was registered long before it acquired trademark rights and that it had itself participated in the joint use of the domain, the panel concluded that the case was brought in bad faith. Dreyfus found reverse domain name hijacking, stating that the Complainant knew it could not show bad faith registration and attempted to “recast a breakdown of a commercial alliance as cybersquatting.”
Jacob Guidry, whose LinkedIn profile lists him as Business Operations Specialist for Slade Global, represented the Complainant. David Llewelyn and Co LLC represented the Respondent.
Source: https://domainnamewire.com/
