Cybersquatting complaint against mahogany.com — Hallmark loses

No surprise in mahogany.com decision.

Hallmark Licensing, LLC and Hallmark Cards, Incorporated have lost a cybersquatting complaint they brought against the domain name mahogany.com.

The decision shouldn’t surprise anyone, even Hallmark and its lawyers at Foley & Lardner LLP.

The domain owner stated it bought the domain name for its dictionary meaning. Indeed, it previously resolved to a web page with a picture of mahogany wood and the dictionary definition. It later linked to a pay-per-click page with links to wood products.

A three-person National Arbitration Forum panel found that the domain owner had rights or legitimate interests in the domain name. It didn’t consider the issue of bad faith.

Although the Respondent didn’t ask for a finding of reverse domain name hijacking, one panelist stated he thought this case was abusive.

The domain name owner purchased the domain for $40,000 in 2017.

Hallmark has a Mahogany brand that targets African American consumers.

Zak Muscovitch represented the domain name owner.