Wikipedia is a registered trademark.
The Respondent to a recently decided UDRP at the WIPO used a novel way to attempt to extract unreasonable fees from the Complainant.
In a UDRP case involving the domain name OnWikipedia.com, the Complainant – Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. – was sent back this response from the domain’s registrant:
“What is this email requesting I do? OnWikipedia.com was taken offline as requested. FYI, a 3rd party offered me $1,000 for a quick transfer via sedo to purchase domain name per valuate.com appraisal. Was this offer made by you/your client? Let me know if you have any further questions.”
In other words, the Respondent hinted of an alleged offer to sell the domain name for $1,000 and referenced Valuate.com as the domain’s value estimator.
Typically, selling domains infringing on trademarks is an act of “cybersquatting” and no valuation tool offers any significance to their selling potential.
According to the Complainant, the domain OnWikipedia.com was being monetized as follows:
“The website at the disputed domain name used to feature Complainant’s WIKIPEDIA “Puzzle Globe” and sell services that purportedly allow anyone to “Buy Wikipedia Pages” for $799.”
The sole panelist, Gary J. Nelson, saw through this folly and since no official response came through by the Respondent, he decided to give the domain to the Complainant.
For the full UDRP case for the domain name OnWikipedia.com click here.
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