My-GTi.com UDRP failed.
Automotive manufacturer, Volkswagen, filed a UDRP against the owner of the domain My-GTi.com.
Claiming rights to the GTi part, the car maker giant must have been certain that the outcome would be a walk in the park.
The Respondent registered the domain to share his experiences with GTI cars; a term that is adopted by several car manufacturers to indicate a sporty car model.
For example, the following cars all use the term GTI – not just Volkswagen:
- Maserati 3500 GTI
- Peugeot 205 GTI
- Suzuki Swift GTi
- Volkswagen Golf GTI
The Respondent pointed out the reason behind the domain’s registration, along with the fact that the domain does not contain the VOLKSWAGEN mark, as it’s not supposed to be specific to that brand.
The Czech Arbitration Court panelist, Etienne Wéry, stated:
“In the absence of any conclusive evidence of a commercial intent behind the Respondent’s registration and use of the domain name, it seems probable to the Panel that the Respondent is using the domain name for its claimed purpose. “
The domain My-GTI.com was thus ordered to remain with the Respondent. For the full text of this UDRP, click here.
