GSF.com domain squatting dispute should be reverse domain hijacking

Every day in the domaining world there are disputes about domains being taken, some domain suits get transferred unconditionally and some get dismissed. The owner deserves at least an explanation.

A man named Greg Foltz registered the domain name GSF.com in 1993. he used it for his family and business (after all, it was his initials).

More than thirty years later, Golden State Foods Corp (GSF) showed up and filed a UDRP against the domain name, claiming that it had been cybersquatted.

The case apparently went nowhere.

UDRP panelist Sozos-Christos Theodoulou (Sozos-Christos Theodoulou) correctly determined that the domain name owner had rights or legitimate interests in the domain name and dismissed the case.

However, despite the fact that the innocent domain owner had to hire an attorney to defend a baseless case, despite the fact that the domain owner sought a finding of reverse domain name hijacking, and despite the fact that the Complainant was represented by an attorney, the Panelists denied that there was reverse domain name hijacking.

Reverse domain name hijacking refers to the behavior of a domain name holder or business that attempts to acquire a domain name that already has a legitimate owner through improper means. Typically, this behavior is an attempt to obtain a domain name that already has a legitimate owner through legal proceedings or other improper means.

To make matters worse, the panelists gave no reason: "Based on the existing record, the Panel finds no sufficient basis to conclude that the complaint was filed in bad faith and therefore declines to make a finding of reverse domain name hijacking here."

Source: domainnamewire