Association tries reverse hijacking domain name — Illinois Agricultural
Organization filed UDRP following first trying to buy the domain name.
A Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution (UDRP) panelist has found Illinois Agricultural Association (IAA) guilty of reverse domain name hijacking.
The organization, which was founded in 1912, filed the dispute against the domain name iaa.org. It uses the domain iaafoundation.org.
Whois shows iaa.org is registered to “James Browne / IMSA Alumni Association” with an address in California.
The domain was previously used for the IMSA Alumni Association, which is for Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy alumni. That organization appears to right now use the domain IMSAalum.org.
IAA previously reached out to the IMSA Alumni Association to try to buy the domain. At first, its offers were rejected. Then, the president of the organization denied ownership of the domain name.
The registrant did not respond to the dispute.
What’s clear from looking at historical Whois records for the domain, as well as archive.org site captures, is that the domain was registered and used for alumni of IMSA. In other words, it was registered in good faith back in 1996.
Panelist Alan L. Limbury found that IAA failed on the first prong of UDRP: that the domain is identical or confusingly similar to a mark in which the Complainant has rights.
The IAA relied on a design mark with the words “IAA & COUNTY AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS”. Limbury stated it wasn’t clear if the organization was also claiming common law rights in IAA, but that it did not provide sufficient evidence of this.
Limbury decided this was a case of “Plan B” reverse domain name hijacking:
As noted, the iaa.org domain name was registered 29 years ago, in February 1996, some 7 years following the registration of Complainant’s mark. On January 28, 2025, Complainant’s Counsel, on behalf of Complainant, offered to buy the domain name from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy’s Alumni Association (“IMSA”) for 5,000 USD. The offer was declined. On March 7, 2025, Complainant’s Counsel increased the offer to 8,000 USD. On March 27, 2025, IMSA clarified that it was not the owner of the domain name. The Complaint was filed on April 16, 2025.
In the Panel’s view, this is a classic “Plan B” case, i.e., using the Policy following failing in the marketplace to acquire the domain name. This stratagem has been described in a number of UDRP cases as “a highly improper purpose” and has contributed to findings of RDNH.
Harness, Dickey & Pierce, PLC represented Illinois Agricultural Association.
