CellGene.com domain in settlement — Celgene gets

Following originally being found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking, pharma firm gets domain.

Picture of gavel with work "settlement" overlayd

Pharmaceutical firm Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) has settled a lawsuit it brought against the domain name CellGene.com. It’s quite a turn of events, too.

The firm was found to have engaged in reverse domain name hijacking earlier this year following it filed a UDRP against the domain name. The panel believed Celgene tried to mislead it.

Following the adverse UDRP finding, the firm hired a fresh attorney—David Weslow of Wiley Rein—and filed an in rem lawsuit against the domain name. The lawsuit claimed violation of the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) and trademark infringement.

The domain owner originally tried to fight the lawsuit. It filed a response and counterclaims.

In the end, still, it settled by agreeing (pdf) to hand over the domain and $5,000:

On August 23, 2019, Defendant CELLGENE.COM served an Offer of Judgment in this action in which CELLGENE.COM: (a) agreed to transfer all rights to the domain name CELLGENE.COM to Celgene; (b) agreed to pay to Celgene the amount of $5,000.00; (c) agreed to dismiss with prejudice all counterclaims asserted against Celgene; and (d) acknowledged that Celgene had a reasonable basis for filing the claim set forth in the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) proceeding involving CELLGENE.COM under WIPO Case No. D2018-2673

I find it bizarre that the owner eventually agreed to pay money following originally fighting the case. It was an in rem case against the domain name. The owner could have just not responded and only lost the domain.

Also on the wire