Rackspace is a popular, established company in the web hosting and cloud hosting space; their mark is famous and registered for many years.
It comes as no surprise when the company filed a UDRP against an Australian, for the domain Rackspace.XYZ, seeking to assume control of it.
Apparently, “rack space” means something entirely different Down Under, and the registrant of the domain claimed it’s all about snooker, pool and tennis storage space, then offered to sell it to Rackspace for $5 grand:
“Respondent states that he is entitled to use the same domain name as Complainant, as long as they do not operate in the same industry. He claims that he is not violating any trade-mark or Internet laws and that the parties to the present proceedings conduct their operations in different fields of activity: the disputed domain name is used by Respondent in connection with pool hall locations, while Complainant is using the RACKSPACE trade-mark for web hosting services.
Respondent states that he is willing to sell the domain name for $5,000 USD, which he considers to be a “fair amount”, given the business plan he has allegedly already developed in connection with the domain name. Respondent threatens to sue both Complainant and ICANN “if Rackspace Inc. steals or if ICANN turns this domain over to Rackspace Inc.”. He also threatens to use his influence in the social media should Complainant launch transfer proceedings in relation to the disputed domain name.”
This type of response won’t get one to keep the domain, however, when it’s a blatant attempt to squat on a corporate trademark.
The Respondent’s own point of view differs, however:
“It’s really quite simple Rackspace INC has two options either go away or buy the domain for the on the table price of $5k, it is going to be better than the $50k I could be seeking from them due to mental and health reasons.
So am I right to ask them to pay for something that I brought first? Yes it’s like you buy a house, unless the bank mortgaged it they can’t take it away without a LEGAL court saying so. So why should a company BIG or SMALL be allowed to bully the small guy and get them to hand over something they brought outright?”
Hugues G. Richard, sole panelist, ordered the domain Rackspace.XYZ to be transferred to the Complainant. For the full text of the UDRP decision, click here.
