Gorgonzola.CLUB – UDRP denied.
If you love Gorgonzola cheese, join the club.
The Italians make it, and there is an official association in Italy, who filed a UDRP against the owners of the domain Gorgonzola.CLUB.
Gorgonzola is a veined Italian blue cheese, made from unskimmed cow’s milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a “bite” from its blue veining, says Wikipedia.
According to the UDRP:
“The Complainant is an Italian entity created in 1968 in order to control the use of the denomination of origin and trade mark GORGONZOLA for use for a specific type of cheese. Denominations of origin are names recognized officially for designating products originating from certain territories and including certain characteristics.”
Furthermore, they state that they operate from Gorgonzola.com and have a trademark:
“The Complainant is the sole authority in Italy with the authority to authorize the use of the denomination of origin “Gorgonzola”. It is also is the owner of a European Union Trade Mark, registered on July 4, 2012 for a mark that consists of the letters “c” and “g” in a single device over the word “gorgonzola” (the “CG GORGONZOLA Mark”). The Complainant is also the owner of the Domain Name <gorgonzola.com> from which it operates a website promoting Gorgonzola cheese. “
The Respondent must have been busy enjoying his Gorgonzola cheese with wine, as they did not file a response.
That’s when the WIPO panelist delivered some hard facts:
“While the word “gorgonzola” has been certified as a denomination of origin in Italy since 1955 and in the European Union from 1996, there is no evidence in the Complaint that it is a protected denomination of origin in the United States, the location of the Respondent, and cheese described as “gorgonzola” is produced in the United States. While the Panel is prepared to conclude that the word “gorgonzola” is a protected denomination of origin in Italy and Europe, it is not satisfied by the evidence in the Complaint that the word “gorgonzola” is anything other than a descriptive term for a particular type of cheese in the United States, the location of the Respondent.”
Nicholas Smith, sole panelist on this case, denied the Complainant’s request for a transfer of Gorgonzola.CLUB and you can read all about it here.
In a similar UDRP case, the domain Gorgonzola.City was allowed to remain with the Respondent as well.
