Might have gotten better legal advice — Weeds, Inc.

Ill-advised firm went following Weeds.com but might be rethinking its plans.

In August 2017 a weed control firm called Weeds, Inc. filed a cybersquatting complaint with World Intellectual Property Organization to get the domain name Weeds.com.

Just days following WIPO published its finding but days ahead of it was made public, the firm filed a federal lawsuit to try to get the domain.

As it turns out, the WIPO panel found that Weeds, Inc. had engaged in reverse domain name hijacking by filing the suit.

It seems that Weeds, Inc. has gotten some better legal advice. So far, it hasn’t served the domain name owner Innovation HQ. Today, the judge in the case issued a “Show Cause” order asking Weeds, Inc. to explain why it hasn’t served Innovation HQ yet.

I can think of a good reason: it knows it will lose and is likely to get hit with a monetary penalty for reverse domain name hijacking.

A domain attorney once told me that a firm named in a lawsuit doesn’t need to work on its defense right away; the plaintiff might not go forward with serving the defendant.