Francois Souflet Dismissed in Souflet.com Domain Name Dispute Case

On July 27, 2024, Belgian citizen Francois Souflet won a legal dispute involving the Souflet.com domain name, handled by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center. The French company, Etablissements J. Soufflet, had sued, claiming that the domain name was registered as a variant of its trademark “Soufflet”.

Background of the case

Etablissements J. Soufflet filed a complaint with WIPO on May 7, 2024, alleging that Francois Souflet registered the domain name Souflet.com in bad faith with the intent to take advantage of the reputation of his well-known trademark. The company owns several registrations for the mark “Soufflet”, including International Trademark Registration No. 1156536. The disputed domain name Souflet.com was registered on March 24, 2023 and was inactive at the time of the filing of the complaint.

Progress of the proceedings

Despite Francois Souflet's failure to respond to the complaint, WIPO's panelists conducted a review. The Panel found that Souflet.com corresponded to the surname of Francois Souflet and that the Respondent may have been motivated only by the use of his own surname and had no malicious intent.

The Panel notes that although Souflet.com is similar to Etablissements J. Soufflet's trademark “Soufflet”, the Complainant has failed to provide sufficient evidence that Francois Souflet acted in bad faith in registering the domain name. The Panel also notes that the disputed domain name has not been used for malicious purposes such as phishing and that there is no evidence that the domain name was registered for a specific purpose.

Outcome of the Decision

For the reasons set forth above, the WIPO Panel has decided to dismiss the complaint of Etablissements J. Soufflet and the Souflet.com domain name will not be transferred to the Complainant. The Panel states that if in the future there is new and substantial evidence that the domain name is being used for purposes directed against the Complainant, the Complainant may resubmit the relevant complaint.