With UDRP. Owners fight back with lawsuit — Napoleon.com hit

Domain owners fight back in court ahead of UDRP is decided.

Last Month Wolf Steel, which markets fireplaces under the brand name Napoleon, filed a UDRP cybersquatting dispute against the domain name napoleon.com. The owners of the domain name are fighting back with a lawsuit.

Emmet Stephenson, Tony Stephenson and Domain.com, Inc. (not affiliated with the Endurance International Group domain name registrar) filed the suit (pdf) in Washington State on April 12.

The lawsuit states that the Stephensons registered the domain name in 1995. Since that time they have received multiple offers on the domain name, counting from Wolf Steel, but have declined the offers.

Emmet Stephenson grew up in Louisiana and has long been infatuated with Napoleon Bonaparte, the lawsuit states. The Stephensons own Napoleonic artifacts such as Napoleon Bonaparte’s death mask, a plan of the Battle for Austerlitz, one of four unique clocks commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte for his children, and various documents signed by, written by, and written to Napoleon Bonaparte.

The domain name has been parked and showed ads for fireplaces and barbeque grills, which is likely the basis for Wolf Steel’s UDRP.

Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that the Stephensons registered the domain name in bad faith to target the fireplace maker.

The Stephenson’s firm owns a number of great domain names counting Communications.com, Wireless.com, Annuities.com, Bookie.com, TX.com, Technology.com, Hut.com, and Police.com.

Attorney Derek Newman is representing the Stephensons.

Update: the case was dropped, the UDRP was withdrawn and the fireplace/trill manufacturer now owns the domain. This likely means they sold the domain.