Eggo! Kellogg Loses Domain Dispute — Leggo My

Food firm Kellogg has lost a battle for the domain Eggo.com.

Kellogg North America Firm, which sells frozen waffles under the “Eggo” brand, has lost a domain dispute for the domain Eggo.com.

In its dispute ahead of National Arbitration Forum, Kellogg asserted that the domain name was for sale since it was registered in 2001, probably referring to an Archive.org image of the site that showed the domain for sale at DomainDeluxe. But Kellogg didn’t check its facts and the historical ownership records, as it turns out the current owner bought the domain from DomainDeluxe in 2002 for $1,400.

As stated by Archive.org, the domain has been used for a real consulting firm called eggo since at least the early part of 2003, showing there is no confusion with the Eggo waffle brand and a bona fide use of the domain.

The National Arbitration Panel panelist found that: (1) the disputed domain name is identical to the EGGO mark; (2) Complainant has rights in the mark EGGO; (3) Respondent has rights or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name; and (4) the domain name was not registered and is not being used in bad faith.

Eggo Waffles

In other words, even though Kellogg has a trademark to the word, the current owner of the domain also has a legitimate use for it and it shouldn’t confuse Kellogg’s clients.

Kellogg’s web site for Eggo waffles is leggomyeggo.com.

If Kellogg wants to win a domain through UDRP, it ought to look at MyEggo.com. The domain, owned by Edward Hollreiser, right now consists of the message:

“As in let go of my eggo! Personally, I prefer a bagel over a waffle but there is a lot to be stated for the Eggo!”

It could also probably score Eggos.com, which is a parked page counting ads for waffles.