The Internet is not just WWW. Email is a valid use for a registered domain name.
A UDRP over at the National Arbitration Forum was turned down, for the domain name OneLove.net.
There are a couple of reasons why the Respondent won the case, despite the existing trademark by the Complainant.
Firstly, the domain’s registration of 1998 predates the trademark. But most importantly, the Respondent used the domain – but not as a web site:
“Respondent registered the domain name for the purpose of using a vanity e-mail address, and has used an e-mail address associated with the disputed domain name for personal correspondence since December of 1998.”
In other words, use of a domain is not restricted to what can be “seen” on the web; its use as an email address demonstrates “good faith” in registration, provided that everything else is in order.
You can read the full decision here.
Totally makes sense to me. It’s easy to set up a catch-all email forwarding for domains at Godaddy. I do it for a bunch of my domains. Then you have some extra email addresses you can use, and forward them all to your main email account .