Blind Wins Domain Name Dispute — Third Eye

Alternative rock group wins bizarre domain arbitration.

This is a follow up to the story I wrote in November (Rock Group Wants ThirdEyeBlind.net). Third Eye Blind has prevailed in the dispute.

In November I speculated:

The owners of ThirdEyeBlind.net seem to be dodging the band by changing its whois information repeatedly. The latest whois information shows the owner is “Third Eye Blinds & Curtains” of India. This seems like a ruse to claim that the domain will be used for a firm with the same name. But the whois record has changed many times, as stated by DomainTools. It just changed to the current record between October 8 and October 24, 2008.

The respondent seems to have gone to great lengths to prove that it is really a window coverings business in India:

The Respondent claims to have purchased the disputed domain name since it matches the name of its business. The Respondent claims to have been developing a website in connection with that domain name, which is almost complete. As supporting evidence, the Respondent provides various copies of what it states to be draft webpages. The Respondent therefore claims to have a legitimate interest in the disputed domain name based on demonstrable preparations to use it, for the purpose of paragraph 4(c)(i) of the Policy.

The Respondent also claims to have a legitimate interest since it is “commonly known by” the disputed domain name for the purpose of paragraph 4(c)(ii) of the Policy. The Respondent provides a copy of what it states is a registration card with the Government of India and the Income Tax Department of India stating the firms name to be “Third Eye Blinds & Curtains” and that the date of formation has been given in the stated card as April 15, 2007. The Respondent provides other evidence, counting a brochure and an “estimate memo” under the name of “Third Eye Blinds and Curtains”, which it states it provides to its clients.

The panel didn’t buy it, but also stated it couldn’t prove otherwise. So it focused on other issues, such as how ThirdEyeBlind.net doesn’t have an ‘s’ on the end, which dramatically changes its meaning.