The domain name WI.com is currently at auction at Namejet.com.
The domain has a high bid of $500,000 with a stated reserve of $500,000-$600,000 and ends on March 15th 2017
A reader sent me a note today that WI.com had a UDRP filed against it in 2015 and wanted to make bidders aware of the UDRP.
The UDRP was bought by a trademark holder of the term WICOM.
Although the three member panel rejected the UDRP, they did find that the domain name WI.com was “identical to the Complainant’s trademark (WICOM) save for the dot and is confusingly similar to a trademark in which the Complainant has rights”, thereby satisfying the first of the three prongs required for a UDRP.
The three member panel went on to find that under the facts, the domain holder had a not acted in bad faith and had rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Domain Name.
I would suggest anyone interested in bidding on this domain should really read the opinion since the facts of the UDRP regarding the domain holder were unusual and would not be the same as to someone buying the domain in auction.
The three member panel spent some time in the opinion on the domain holder’s lack of notice of the trademark saying:
“Complainant and his trademark would not have featured in the domain holders deliberations at that time. Indeed, as indicated, the Panel accepts the domain holder’s assertion that it had not heard of the Complainant or his WICOM trade mark prior to receipt of the Complaint.
I would expect that a trademark holder might argue that the former UDRP is notice of an issue regarding the domain name.
I’m not telling anyone not to bid on the domain, but a bidder should seek the counsel of an attorney for an opinion based on the trademark and the previous UDRP especially if the domain is being acquired by a domain investor rather than an end-user.
The three member panel in the previous UDRP were:
Tony Willoughby
Hon Neil Brown Q.C.
Thomas Hoeren
