188 tm holder strikes again.
Yet another UDRP over domains that begin with the not-so-lucky number “188” has been decided at the WIPO.
Following on a batch of six digit numeric .com domains in April, and one UDRP in February for the same type of number, the new case involved the following domain names:
188b0.com, 188b1.com, 188b2.com, 188b3.com, 188b4.com, 188b5.com, 188b6.com, 188b7.com, 188b8.com and 188b9.com – all registered with GoDaddy.com.
This is the first time that the Complainant, Cube Limited of Douglas, Isle of Man, United Kingdom, targets multi-character domains.
But there is a good reason for that.
Their claim of the “188” mark as it applies to casino and entertainment games, was used once again in this UDRP.
They also pointed out that these domains displayed gambling and casino content intending to mislead some type of affiliation to the “188” business and mark.
“The Complainant contends that as the Respondent is using on his websites, without the permission of the Complainant, the Complainant’s trade marks and logos as well as the logos of two English Premier League football clubs with which the Complainant has a sponsorship agreement, there is no bona fide offering of goods or services. It further contends that the disputed domain names have been registered to create confusion and mislead Internet users into believing that the Respondent’s websites are in some way connected with or endorsed by the Complainant. The Complainant supports this by saying that the look and feel of the Respondent’s websites imitates the Complainant’s original website.”
The sole panelist at the WIPO, Sok Ling, pointed out that the Respondent, who did not respond, might have provided fake contact information for those domains.
The decision: all these domains involved should be transferred to the Complainant. To read the details of the UDRP, click here.
