NikeGoogle.com UDRP : Who gets to keep the domain?

Back in July, the double-infringing domain, NikeGoogle.com, was challenged in a UDRP.

In a surprising decision, the Complainant, Nike corporation, was denied transfer of the domain.

The reason: there are two infringing trademarks involved, Nike and Google.

Lo and behold, the Nike lawyers called up Google, and a new UDRP was filed against the owner of the domain.

This time around, both companies, Nike and Google, were Complainants; their respective trademark counsels each filed claims in the domain’s mark.

During the discovery period, it became known that the Respondent had registered the domain name for “educational purposes”, and offered Complainant the opportunity to purchase the “intellectual property of my work” for $15,000 dollars.

So which complainant gets to keep the domain? According to the UDRP:

“Complainant submits that the NIKE mark has acquired worldwide fame and that it has been using the mark since 1971. Complainant also asserts that the GOOGLE mark has been used since 1997 and that the mark has reached worldwide fame due to its many affiliates and presence as one of the top websites on the internet for traffic”

In this case the oldest mark is that of Nike, and with the agreement of Google’s lawyers they get the domain.

Moral of the story: When you find the best solution, just google it. 😉

For the full text of this entertaining decision for NikeGoogle.com, click here.

Or read the NVIDIA – Alienware UDRP that differs in its approach.

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