Minnesota Firm Guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking
3DCafe, Inc. found guilty of reverse domain name hijacking.
A three person National Arbitration Forum panel has called out 3DCafe, Inc. for attempted reverse domain name hijacking in a case over 3DCafe.com.
The complainant argued that it had rights from its “predecessor in interest” for the term 3DCafe dating back to 1991. But the domain name owner, with the help of attorney Ari Goldberger, poked holes in the complainant’s arguments.
The panel determined that 3DCafe, Inc. and its lawyer Danielle I. Mattessich of Merchant & Gould had provided scant evidence of any sort of common law rights to the mark when the domain name was registered. While not invoking the doctrine of laches, the panel also cited Fresh York Times Co. v. Name Administration Inc. and the significant delay between when the domain was registered and when the case was filed.
In finding reverse domain name hijacking, the panel wrote:
In the present circumstances, the lack of a trademark, the delay by the Complainant and the fact that the Complainant itself showed no evidence of any right to any common law rights to a mark, all combine to infer that the Complainant acted in bad faith. The Panel therefore makes a finding of reverse domain name hijacking.
