If you agreed on a something, don’t take it onto a UDRP.
Domain dispute 101 : The UDRP process is not the proper place to resolve contractual issues, or other disputes between disagreeing parties.
Qycell Corporation filed a UDRP against the registrant of the domain, Qycell.com.
There was, however, an ongoing legal feud between the two parties, going back more than 10 years.
The Respondent, Tom Schultz, stated the following:
From 2003 to 2006 Respondent served as president and chief executive officer of Complainant.
During that period, Respondent licensed the disputed domain name to Complainant without compensation in the form of royalties.
Late in 2005, Complainant stopped paying Respondent’s executive salary, reneged on its long-standing promise to issue him a one-third share of equity in the business and filed suit against him.
In August of 2007, Complainant and Respondent settled the litigation between them by means of a comprehensive written settlement agreement the terms of which were negotiated by their respective attorneys.
That agreement obligates Complainant to pay Respondent $500,000 already owed to him.
It seems that there was no movement on that agreement since then, and according to the Respondent, the UDRP filing was in breach of their agreement:
The same agreement included a release and waiver of all present and future claims between the parties.
The parties also entered into an oral side agreement allowing Complainant to use and maintain the website resolving from the domain name royalty free until such time as Complainant should pay Respondent the money due to him.
In May of 2016, Complainant asked Respondent what sum of money he would accept for relinquishment of all of his rights in the domain name.
Respondent replied that he would accept the $500,000 amount owed to him, whereupon Complainant commenced this proceeding.
Terry F. Peppard, Panelist at the National Arbitration Forum, delivered a finding of no transfer for the domain, Qycell.com, stating the following:
A dispute, such as the present one, between parties who each have at least a prima facie case for rights in the disputed domain names is outside the scope of the Policy … [T]he present case appears to hinge mostly on a business or civil dispute between the parties, with possible causes of action for breach of contract or fiduciary duty. Thus, the majority holds that the subject matter is outside the scope of the UDRP and dismisses the Complaint.
For the full text of the UDRP for the domain Qycell.com, click here.
