The domain name GoToHale.com was registered in 2000 by Mr. Roger Hale, a
It’s obvious that by registering and using the domain he’s also producing a prompt of “Go to Hale”—a tongue-in-cheek reference, perhaps, to “Go to hell.”
Meanwhile, a law firm by the name of Hale Law registered the mark GO TO HALE in late 2021, a full two decades after the domain’s registration. They also filed a UDRP to usurp the domain GoToHale.com.
The UDRP is pending decision, and attorney John Berryhill represents the Respondent. He has provided an extensive reasoning about why this case needs to be decided in the Respondent’s favor:
“Fair warning to @gotohalelaw and @MaxeyFisher . No, you don’t get to steal a domain name that was registered when your client was 13 years old and is twenty years older than your mark.”
Says the experienced IP attorney via Twitter:
The Complainant’s principal was admitted to the practice of law in the fall of 2014. Given three years for law school successive to a four year undergraduate program after high school, then the Complainant’s principal was likely a young teenager in 7th or 8th grade when the Respondent, already an accomplished cybersecurity professional, registered the domain name. At that tender age, the Complainant’s principal presumably dreamed of one day being able to grow facial hair, starting a business and accusing the Respondent of cybersquatting.
It seems that this is a case that might be decided with a Reverse Domain Name Hijacking finding. We’ll have to wait and see what the WIPO panel will decide.
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