I have found what interests a lot of readers on RobbiesBlog.com is the WIPO or DRS cases etc that we share, while doing some more research I came across two separate DRS cases from last month that both had the original findings appealed, both Nominet Appeal Cases are interesting reads.
The first case is by well known Turkish domain name investment company Nokta Domains who fought against OVS S.p.A. to keep hold of the domain name OVS.co.uk & OVS.uk – I completely agree with the outcome of this case and clearly, is Reverse Domain Name Hijacking attempting to be done by OVS S.p.A. instead of paying the reported £7,500 for the domain names after there £1000 offer was rejected
The second case is by Tarmac Trading Limited against a small business owner Mr Maurice Birch who was using the domain name TarmacDrivewaysPlymouth.co.uk to redirect to his company website, 5stardrivewaysltd.co.uk where they offer services in the Plymouth area to Tarmac driveways as well as other services. In the original case Mr Birch won his fight but in the subsequent appear lost the domain name, I can’t see where anyone in the public domain would confuse the two companies in any way and I don’t see this as passing off but actually promoting a service they offer, however, the panel disagreed – What do you think?
Nominet Appeal Cases
Below are both cases – Nokta Domains vs OVS S.p.A & Tarmac Trading Limited against Mr Maurice Birch. – Note to access these cases and read in more detail visit this link and case numbers below.
D00021275 – Tarmac Trading Limited vs Mr Maurice Birch
D00022003 – OVS S.p.A vs Nokta Domains
What’re your thoughts on the outcomes of these two cases? – Should OVS S.p.A be found guilty of Reverse Domain Name HiJackings, should Nokta Domains increase there costs now to recover there legal fees and time? Is Tarmac a huge multibillion-dollar company picking on the little guy here over the Tarmac domain or do they need to protect their brand?