A registered trademark does not give automatic rights to a domain.
A UDRP that was filed against the domain Approve.me, has been denied.
The Complainant, Kevin Michael Gray d/b/a Approve Me of San Francisco, asserted the following in this case:
“…offers an approval management software application that allows users to sign, store and distribute invoices, contracts, job applications, credit card applications and accounting documents using proprietary approval and processing technology, offered under the APPROVE ME name and trademark. The Complainant owns the domain name <approveme.me> and uses a website linked to that domain name to offer its APPROVE ME app.”
There was only one problem: the trademark for APPROVE ME was applied for in 2013, received a registration in 2014 but the domain at stake was registered long before that time, in 2008.
On top of that, the Respondent makes legitimate use of the domain, providing bona fide services longer than the Complainant’s own.
The Respondent noted the following:
“The Respondent denies that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to the Complainant’s registered trademark, noting that APPROVE ME has a descriptive meaning in relation to credit approval matters that it argues would not necessarily be associated with the Complainant. The Respondent further submits that it has rights and legitimate interests in the disputed domain name, which it claims to be using in connection with a bona fide online financial services platform. The Respondent states that it had not heard of the Complainant before it registered the disputed domain name and its corresponding company name, and that it only learned of the Complainant when it received the Complainant’s cease and desist letter in October 2014. The Respondent denies that it has acquired or used the disputed domain name in bad faith.”
Angela Fox, sole panelist for the WIPO, ruled that the domain Approve.me should thus remain with its current registrant.
For the full text of the UDRP decision, click here.
