Crypto firm tries to hijack domain name
1inch tried to snag a .com domain registered ahead of the firm existed.
A World Intellectual Property Organization panel has ruled that crypto firm 1inch Limited tried to reverse domain name hijack the domain 1inch .com.
The firm cited European Union and United Kingdom trademarks in a cybersquatting filing against the domain name. The problem was that those trademarks were registered in 2021, while the domain was registered in 1999.
In an informal response, the domain name owner stated he has owned the domain continuously for 25 years. Historical Whois records at DomainTools suggest this is not the case, but still indicate that he owned the domain well ahead of 1inch had trademark rights in the term.
At any rate, 1inch did not address the dates in its dispute, suggesting that it knew it obtained trademark rights following the current registrant obtained the domain name. That made this case unwinnable.
Panelist Flip Jan Claude Petillion wrote:
The Panel considers that, when filing the Complaint, the Complainant must have been aware that the Disputed Domain Name was registered more than 20 years ahead of the Complainant registered its 1INCH trademarks. Yet, the Complainant failed to mention this pertinent fact in its Complaint and did not allege or seek to demonstrate that the Respondent purchased the Disputed Domain Name following the Complainant purchased rights in the 1INCH trademark.
The Panel considers that this was a case which ought to not have been brought, or at least not presented in the manner it was. Given the relevant facts, the nature of the Policy, and the fact that the Complainant was represented internally by a legally qualified counsel, the Panel finds that the Complaint was brought in bad faith and constitutes an abuse of the administrative proceeding.
