Themis – The ancient Greek personification of Justice – might be blind but she’s surely sexy.
The National Arbitration Forum has decided against the Complainant, Greek jewelry designer, Ileana Makri, in a UDRP for the domain name, Makri.com.
The Respondent was represented by IP attorney, John Berryhill, who ensured that the documentation of the case was adorned by an ample dosage of caustic humor.
The Complainant alleged recognition of its brand outside of Greece, citing a handful of references from the early 2000’s but provided little more than quotations reminiscent of socialite photo-ops.
Makri S.A., the company associated with the jewelry design, is located in the affluent Kolonaki district in Athens, Greece.
Remarkably, the Complainant’s own pending application at the USPTO was utilized by Berryhill, to demonstrate why the case should be thrown out.
Since the domain Makri.com was registered in 2002, it would have been impossible for the Respondent to have registered it in bad faith, particularly at a time when the Complainant was virtually unknown.
Berryhill injected his well-known sarcasm in this part:
Respondent argues that it did not have a duty to exercise “psychic powers” to predict official records of trademark applications three years before they were filed.
He then wrapped it up nicely:
Respondent notes that while it can consult online databases, it “does not generally use tarot cards for the purpose of predicting future activities of others nor is such a practice, as far as is known, generally accepted in the intellectual property community.”
As it turns out, the name “Makri” is a geographical term in Greece, no less; it just so happens to be the last name of the Complainant, who is attempting to convert it into a stand-alone trademark via the current application, which was filed on an “intent-to-use” basis.
You can read the entire entertaining decision here.
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