Intellectual Property firm guilty of reverse domain name hijacking

Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?

Intellectual property management firm CPA Global has been found to have engaged in reverse domain name hijacking by a World Intellectual Property Orgnaization panel.

The firm filed a cybersquatting complaint against the domain name CPAGlobal-Litigation.com. The domain name is used by a law firm soliciting CPA Global clients for a class action lawsuit that alleges the IP management firm overbilled clients.

Even a rudimentary review of past UDRP cases would reveal that a panel would rule the domain name was registered and used in good faith and that the law firm had a legitimate interest in the domain. It helped that it had ‘litigation’ in the domain, which makes it clear that the site connected to the domain isn’t run by CPA Global.

In finding reverse domain name hijacking, the three-member panel wrote:

In this case, the Complainant ought to have known its Complaint was doomed to fail. The Respondent was clearly using the Disputed Domain Name in good faith to promote and provide information regarding a legitimate service which it offers…

…The Panel considers the Complainant launched the proceedings primarily to harass the Respondent and disrupt its lawsuit.