How NOT to name your firm and secure your domain
When you know it’s time to select a different firm name…
A Colorado firm just lost a UDRP for Qwizzle.com, and it’s a great example of botched firm naming.
The firm, Qwizzle, LLC, knew that Qwizzle.com was taken when it came up with its name. It tried to contact the owner of Qwizzle.com but had no luck. It still decided to launch its business as Qwizzle but then filed a UDRP to try to get the domain name.
It lost the UDRP since Qwizzle.com was registered ahead of it came up with the name for its online real estate firm.
I started to research where I could find Qwizzle on the web. When I Google “quizzle”, the first two results are from Facebook and Twitter respectively. Then there’s Qwizzle.co, which resolved to a blank page save for the firm’s favicon. This domain appears to be owned by Qwizzle.co. Quizzle.us looks like the actual site for the firm, although it’s registered to someone in Michigan.
I noticed Qwizzle.net was registered, too. Surprisingly, it’s registered by Quicken Loans. Quicken has a site called Quizzle.com, and apparently there was some confusion as to how to spell it so they picked up the Qwizzle.net name as well.
That ought to have been a huge red flag for Qwizzle, LLC. If people are confused that Quizzle.com might be spelled Qwizzle.com, then certainly it can be the other way around. And Quicken Loans offers mortgage loans — which is too close for comfort to a real estate site.
If I were this firm I would have just gone with another name (and domain).
Qwizzle wants to disrupt the traditional home marketing and real estate business. It’s a laudable goal, but they need to pick a different name.
