5285.com remains a stolen domain.
In February we covered the news of yet another brazen domain theft, involving the domain 5285.com.
A Chinese cybercriminal stole the domain, unlawfully transferring it away from eNom to Ename in China.
The domain’s legitimate owner, Donald Williams, is an experienced domain investor. He filed a UDRP and a “wangyan hong” is listed as the Respondent in the case.
The UDRP was primarily based on the argument that the Complainant purchased the domain in January 2007 and used it until December 2015 in connection with his provision of domain sales advertisements through pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
At the same time, the domain theft incident is described:
“Respondent is Wangyan Hong / wang yan hong, of Fujian, China. Respondent’s registrar’s address is unlisted. Respondent’s registration of the domain name is disputed as Complainant asserts that Respondent, as a hacker or otherwise, stole the domain name from him in December 2015 or some time in close proximity thereto.”
The Respondent in this case failed to submit a response.
Darryl C. Wilson, sole panelist, refused to order the domain transferred, with this argument:
“The disputed domain was also initially registered prior to Complainant’s ownership in 2007. Complainant does not address the prior registration of the disputed domain name. Generally, a domain name registration prior to the establishment of exclusive rights by a Complainant in a mark precludes a finding that the Complainant has enforceable trademark rights against the Respondent.”
This is a case that the domain should have been challenged via a federal lawsuit, as opposed to a UDRP. That option should still be available to explore.
For the full text of this decision for the stolen domain 5285.com, click here.
