RDNH finding.
LOGOCOS Naturkosmetik AG of Germany asserted rights to the SANTE mark, and filed a UDRP against the aged domain, Sante.com.
Registered in 1997, Sante.com is a parked domain, and “sante” means health in French.
The Respondent was represented by ESQwire.com, sponsors of our publication. The information was obtained from public sources and this article is not promotional.
In their defense, the Respondent noted the following inconsistencies in the Complainant’s claims:
The Respondent denies that the disputed domain name is identical or confusingly similar to the Complainant’s marks, pointing out that these marks are not for the word “sante” itself, but for composite marks which do not confer rights in the generic word “sante” contained in them. The Respondent draws attention to decisions under the UDRP in which domain names consisting of generic words were found not to be confusingly similar to composite marks containing those words.
The Respondent claims that it has rights and a legitimate interest in the disputed domain name by virtue of its longstanding registration, its plain meaning and inherent value, and its use in connection with the bona fide offering of goods and services and for a legitimate purpose.
A three member panel at the ADR Center of the Czech Arbitration Court concluded that there was no bad faith registration or use, based on the generic nature of the keyword.
The Panel considers that the disputed domain name is not identical to any of these marks since none of them is the word SANTE by itself. The Panel is also not satisfied on the evidence that the disputed domain name is confusingly similar to any of these marks.
The panelists denied the transfer, and slapped the Complainant with a finding of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH.)
Read the full details on this UDRP decision for Sante.com.
