Imagine this: you can register a dot .SUCKS domain to vent off your sentiments as a consumer, but god forbid if you register “I Love …” alongside that brand!
ALDI is an international discount supermarket chain, with headquarters in Germany.
It is very popular in Europe and lately in the US. Their products are generic, so don’t expect to find anything familiar at their store. You also have to provide your own bags at checkout, or purchase re-usable ALDI bags.
ALDI.com
Lots of people love ALDI, and it has created a followship, much like IKEA.
The Registrant of ILoveALDI.com was in shock, when he received a UDRP notice from ALDI for that domain.
“I bought this domain over 3 years ago, wanting to start a site that shows how great of a store Aldi is. It truly is amazing! Not only are items often far less expensive than where you can get them elsewhere, but they are just as good, if not better than their counterparts! So I wanted a site that promoted and even rejoiced in the amazing Aldi!”
After receiving an increased amount of traffic he realized the previous owner of ILoveALDI.co.uk was also ordered to hand the domain over.
In disbelief, he wrote:
“But this was a website that loved Aldi! This was a website that promoted Aldi products! Certainly they could have come to some sort of agreement. If I were Aldi, I would have hired that guy. I would have sanctioned his website and helped him to promote my business even more.”
Apparently, the Panelist was not amused, particularly with the next statement that honestly appears to reach out:
“So, Aldi, if you’re reading this, I’d love to work for you. I still love you. And think a website such as this will help, not hurt, your business.”
Part of the closing statement by the Panelist reads as follows:
“The Panel is troubled, however, by the Respondent’s plea that he would “love to work” for Aldi. That can be read as suggesting, in the context of domain name registration, a commercial or ulterior motive. Taken together with the Respondent’s failure to identify the nature of his other websites and, especially, to explain why his site was not in fact being used for the claimed purpose despite the passage of more than three years, the Panel considers the Respondent’s purported justification should not be accepted. “
You can read the entire text of the UDRP for the domain ILoveALDI.com here.
Hi, just ran across this today when I searched for my old domain on a whim. I learned a lot from that whole process. I represented myself, and thought I did a fairly good job of it, but I learned that it’s important to be thorough. For every point the complainant makes, counter it. I feel like I could have won if I had done that, rather than ignore what I thought to be fairly obvious things. Like how I didn’t have any other websites that I was squatting, which I thought was implied from my response, but I should have made explicit. And like how, even though the complainant said that they had contacted me about giving them the domain, I don’t recall receiving this before they issued the domain dispute. I didn’t mention it in my response because I didn’t see how it was relevant. Apparently, the panelist thought it was.
Anyway, even after all that, I still love Aldi and shop there. I just wish they would have shown me some love, too!
Chris – Thanks for sharing. Good to see you moved on and still love Aldi 😀 Don’t expect much love from the lawyers of large corporations!