Saban Capital Group UDRP Application Withdrawn

According to domaingang, one UDRP application was withdrawn as follows.

Background

Saban Capital Group is a leading private investment firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California, focused on a globally diversified portfolio of investments in real estate, venture capital, growth equity, private equity, public equity, and fixed income. The firm was founded in 2001 by Haim Saban, a leading business and entertainment figure. Recently, Saban Capital Group filed a Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) application with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in an attempt to acquire the domain name SabanRealEstate.com, which at the time was set to redirect to the website of the Spanish company CREO-Realestate.com.

Respondent's evidence

In its defense, the Respondent provided a series of evidence in an attempt to prove its legitimate interest in the domain name:

1. Proof of Surname: The Respondent's surname is Barha Saban, and this information is confirmed by documentary evidence.

2. Family Affiliation: The Respondent states that its uncle, Raul Saban, is an executive of the Saban Construction Company in Turkey, and provides supporting evidence to that effect.

3. Domain Name Registration Background: The Respondent indicated that it registered the Disputed Domain Name on behalf of Saban Construction Company, thereby demonstrating a legitimate connection between the Domain Name and its operations.

Expert Analysis

In the course of its deliberations, the WIPO Panel noted that Saban Capital Group could not reasonably have known of the association of the Respondent's last name with Saban at the time of the filing of the Complaint. Specific reasons included:

1. The surname was not disclosed in the WHOIS record and registrar information.

2. the website to which the disputed domain name redirected did not display the Respondent's name; and

3. other publicly available online resources similarly do not indicate that Saban is the Respondent's surname.

Decision of the Case

Based on the above facts, the Complainant has decided to withdraw its UDRP application for SabanRealEstate.com. The Panel finds that the Complainant acted appropriately in choosing to withdraw its application after learning the facts and ultimately decides to close the case.