MMA group guilty of reverse domain name hijacking — One Championship
Firm behind ONE Championship filed a cybersquatting claim in abuse of the policy.
Group One Holdings Pte Ltd of Singapore, an Asian mixed martial arts group that runs ONE Championship, has been found to have engaged in reverse domain name hijacking over the domain name OneChampionship.com.
The case is a classic example of a “Plan B” UDRP filing. The firm first tried to buy the domain name from its owner, who registered the domain name well ahead of ONE Championship was marketed.
Once it failed to buy it on terms to its liking, it filed the UDRP.
The three person World Intellectual Property Organization panel wrote:
In the Panel’s view, this is a classic “Plan B” case, where the Complainant initially attempted to acquire the disputed domain name making no mention of the UDRP or any other legal rights. Then, having been frustrated in its negotiations to buy the disputed domain name, it resorted to the ultimate option of a highly contrived and artificial claim not supported by any facts or the plain wording of the UDRP.
The domain name owner was represented by Zak Muscovitch. Group One Holdings, the firm found guilty of RDNH, was represented by Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP.
ONE Championship uses the domain name OneFC.com.
