Plus Transfer.
A UDRP at the WIPO has denied the transfer of the domain, PlusTransfer.com, to a Dutch competitor.
Filed by WeRock B.V. of Amsterdam, Netherlands, the UDRP examined a straightforward case that should have been decided with a Reverse Domain Name Hijacking finding.
The Complainant uses the domain WeTransfer.com to offer file transfer services, and actively utilizes the WETRANSFER mark.
Apparently, what triggered the UDRP was a cease and desist letter sent to the PlusTransfer.com owners, that had copied the “look and feel” of the WeTransfer.com web site, while offering similar services.
The Respondent changed their web site but naturally refuted any attempts by WeTransfer to surrender the domain.
The WIPO panelist, Luca Barbero, saw exactly that:
“The Panel notes that the disputed domain name <plustransfer.com> and the Complainant’s trademark WETRANSFER both include the descriptive term “transfer”. Typically, the test under the first element involves a straight forward visual or aural comparison of the trademark with the alphanumeric string in the domain name.
In the case at hand, the term “plus” appears before “transfer” in the disputed domain name, replacing “we” in the Complainant’s trademark; both “plus” and “we” are descriptive terms and arguably associated with services both parties offer. Visually, the Complainant’s trademark is not recognizable in the disputed domain name, and aurally, the disputed domain name cannot be said to sound identical nor confusingly similar to the Complainant’s trademark. Therefore, the Panel finds that the disputed domain name is not similar to the Complainant’s trademark to satisfy the first element of the Policy.”
This, could have been a case that delivered a RDNH finding, but it didn’t; the Respondent will be partying in Prague, most likely.
Read the full text of the UDRP decision for PlusTransfer.com here.
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