Registering trademarks will make one a cybersquatter.
Zions Bancorporation of Salt Lake City, Utah landed the first multiple new gTLD UDRP that we’re aware of, seeking to protect its marks “Zions Bank” and “Zions.”
The Respondent in this case clearly went after the intellectual property rights of the Complainant, per the choice of new gTLD domains that he registered:
zions.equipment
zions.holdings
zions.today
zionsbank.careers
zionsbank.directory
zionsbank.equipment
zionsbank.estate
zionsbank.technology
zionsbank.today
zionsbank.ventures
According to the response filed by the Respondent, he wasn’t planning to resell these domains, and offered to “add a line” to the resolving web sites, that they aren’t associated with the Complainant:
“The Respondent transmitted by email to the Center an informal communication, the substance of which contained the following statements: (i) the Respondent will add a line to the websites stating there is no association or relationship with the Complainant; (ii) the Respondent will not use the websites for commercial uses; (ii) the Respondent’s intention is to use the websites “as hub, where information from credited press (example new york time, financial time and Bloomberg) about what the bank is up and make it to a social hub”; and (iv) the Respondent is not cybersquatting and has no intention to sell the disputed domain names to the Complainant for a profit.”
None of this nonsense convinced the sole panelist, Andrew F. Christie, and he ordered these domains to be transferred to the Complainant.
As it turns out, the Complainant has had prior beef with the same Respondent, after winning the domain Zionsbank.holdings in a separate UDRP, that is worth reading.
For the full text of the UDRP case on these gTLD domains, click here.
