Life’s what happens when you’re busy making plans; in the case of a couple who had a strategic business alliance as well, it led to a UDRP over a domain name.
The domain in question, StrategicChoiceArchitecture.com, was registered in 2009 by the Respondent, Ms. Sandra Blevins, Social Design of New York.
The Complainant is Mr. Roger Martin of Oakville, Ontario, Canada and as former Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto he carries on a management consulting business named “Strategic Choice Architecture“.
Complainant and Respondent were engaged in 2009 at the time the domain’s registration took place; they were married in 2010 but their marriage was dissolved in 2013.
According to the UDRP document:
“The Respondent submits that she has a right or legitimate interests in the disputed domain name because she has offered consulting services in the relative field since at least 2013, including on her website home page, and that the Complainant implicitly ceded any ownership claims to the disputed domain name after the Parties’ divorce through the marital settlement agreement.”
The three member panel at the WIPO declared that the UDRP should fail, as this case should be resolved in a court of law:
“The Panel notes that this case arises out of a personal and professional relationship between the Parties which involved the Respondent working to promote the Complainant’s business activities both before and during their marriage. The disputed domain name was created as a consequence of these intertwined relationships. It was registered in the Respondent’s name.
This fact on its own, in the context of the Parties’ relationship, does not necessarily demonstrate that the Respondent was acting with bad faith intent at the point when the disputed domain name was registered. There are no other facts in the record pointing in the direction of registration in bad faith.”
For the full text of the UDRP for the domain StrategicChoiceArchitecture.com, click here.
