Develi is a city in South-east Turkey.
A UDRP that was filed at the WIPO against the domain name Develi.com, resulted in the much coveted “reverse domain name hijacking” finding.
A Turkish individual, Arif Develier of Instabul, claimed century old rights to the name “Develi” due to a restaurant chain his grandfather founded in 1912:
“The Complainant is a private individual and states that it is the owner of the restaurant chain named “Develi”, which it notes is the first and only such chain in Turkey that has been operating for more than a century. The Complainant states that the chain was founded by the Complainant’s grandfather in 1912, being initially established in the Gaziantep province of Turkey and expanded to Istanbul and other places in Turkey from 1966. The Complainant says that today its chain has a capacity of 5,500 customers and has plans to open in Russian Federation, Ukraine and Azerbaijan.”
The Respondent is parking the domain and makes no use of it as a restaurant web site – although ads referencing restaurants do appear – stating that “Develi” is a city in Turkey, predating any mark claims by the Complainant by at least 200 years:
“The Respondent asserts that the city of Develi is located in the central Anatolia Region of Turkey, was established over 200 years ago and pre-dates anything that the Complainant may have established. The Respondent submits that the Complainant fails to show that the use of the disputed domain name is likely to confuse the vast global Internet population.”
The sole panelist weighed all the facts and delivered a denial of transfer, and tarnished the Complainant with a RDNH finding:
“…the Panel finds that on balance the Complaint was brought in bad faith and constitutes an abuse of the administrative proceeding.”
For the full text of the UDRP regarding the domain Develi.com click here.
How do you always post this info ahead of other blogs?
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