Honda lost this cybersquatting case — I’m surprised
I’m surprised Honda lost this cybersquatting dispute.
It’s not often that I write regarding a UDRP in which I’m surprised the panelist did not order a transfer, but here’s one.
Car firm American Honda Motor Co., Inc. filed a UDRP against EdwardsHonda.com, which is registered to a man named Bob Edwards.
Panelist Alan L. Limbury found in Honda’s favor on the question of whether Bob Edwards had rights or legitimate interests in the domain, but not on the issue of whether it was registered and used in bad faith.
He wrote:
Still, since Respondent’s surname is Edwards and since the domain name could conceivably be a legitimate way of referring to a HONDA vehicle owned by Respondent, the Panel is not satisfied that Respondent registered the domain name in bad faith in any of the circumstances set out in Paragraph 4(b)(i) (ii) or (iii) of the Policy, nor that Respondent did so with intent otherwise to take unfair advantage of the mark.
And:
Here, since the edwardshonda.com domain name could conceivably be a way of legitimately referring to a HONDA vehicle owned by Respondent, Bob Edwards, the Panel is not satisfied that Respondent’s passive use of the domain name since its registration in 2012 has been in bad faith.
Limbury is right, the domain could conceivably be used in a way that doesn’t violate the policy. But there are a couple of things that surprise me.
First, the person’s surname is Edwards, not Edward. If it were Edward, pairing Edward’s with Honda would make it possessive, and that would lend some credence to the argument that the domain could refer to the person’s Honda. I’m not aware of people registering domains to show off their cars like that, but I suppose it’s possible.
But keep in mind the site isn’t developed, and the owner didn’t respond to defend the dispute. I’m surprised the panelist gave this much deference to someone who didn’t respond.
Now, doing a bit more digging, I think I know why the domain was registered in the first place and why the registrant didn’t respond.
Historical Whois records show the domain was registered to Edwards Auto Group in Iowa. Bob Edwards may have passed away following registering the domain.
Regardless, Edwards Auto Group owns a lot of car dealerships in Iowa, although I don’t see a Honda dealership. It does sell used Hondas, though.
Interestingly, historical screenshot records show the domain once forwarded to a powersports website.
Considering none of this information was available to the panelist, I’m still somewhat surprised the domain wasn’t transferred, given the registrant’s non-response.
