Someone just spent $2,000 dollars to acquire StevieWonder.com via the DropCatch auction, ignoring existing trademarks secured on the famous artist’s behalf.
They might have wasted two grand at the press of a bid button.
Domains, brands and trademarks. Photo by Amador Loureiro on Unsplash
Something went wrong for this domain to drop in the first place; Stevie Wonder’s other domains are also at Com Laude, the domain Registrar that had control of StevieWonder.com at the time it dropped.
The DropCatch auction’s winner is already listing the domain for sale at NamePros, seeking offers. We aren’t sure if the Spanish auction winner, nameflipping.com, is aware of a UDRP that took away the domain StevieWonder.com from its fans.
A quick search at UDRPSearch would have rendered some ominous results: 11 UDRP cases were filed on “Stevie Wonder” domains between 2005 and 2013, all with results favoring the Complainant, Stevland Morris aka Stevie Wonder.
In particular, StevieWonder.com was the first to go in 2005:
Complainant is Stevland Morris a/k/a Stevie Wonder (“Complainant”), represented by Stephen J. Strauss of Fulwider Patton Lee & Utecht, LLP, 6060 Center Drive, Tenth Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90045. Respondent is Unofficial Fan Club c/o Web Master (“Respondent”), JaLan Cempaka, Block B4, No #35, Pamulang, Indah, Jakarta Selatan 11530.
In that decision, the domain was transferred and you can read more about the decision here.
Would the Stevie Wonder lawyers strike again?
