The attempt to register the MIT.school domain name failed, and the "pseudo-protection" behavior was rejected

In the field of domain name investment and use, the UDRP case of the MIT.school domain name is a typical example with great warning significance.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has a long history of MIT trademarks and is very influential. In 1989, the MIT word trademark was registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office, covering many categories such as educational services and clothing. It was subsequently registered in many places such as the European Union and has long been famous around the world.

On September 3, 2021, the respondent registered the mit.school domain name. The respondent claimed that the registration of the domain name was to protect the MIT brand, and also claimed that it had informed MIT of the relevant risks by email and Twitter in early 2021, and was willing to transfer it for free. However, the email provided by it has no date stamp, and the domain name actually mentioned in the email to be given to MIT is nyu.school, not mit.school, and the authenticity is questionable.

From the usage situation, the domain name was redirected to the Stanford Business School website, and then to the California Institute of Technology website. The respondent claimed that this move was to remind MIT of security issues, but the complainant believed that this would undoubtedly cause Internet users to associate the domain name with MIT, causing confusion and seriously damaging MIT's trademark rights.

The respondent did not use the mit.school domain name to provide real goods or services, nor was it widely known because of the domain name, and could not prove that it had legal rights or interests in the domain name. On the contrary, all signs show that the respondent registered the domain name more like to make a profit by using the MIT trademark.

In terms of malicious registration and use, the respondent admitted that he knew the MIT trademark when registering. After being contacted by the complainant's lawyer, the respondent even proposed to sell the domain name or use it in exchange for a place in MIT's advanced MBA program, and his malicious intentions were very obvious. Redirecting the domain name to other educational institutions' websites and using the MIT brand to attract traffic is even more powerful evidence of malicious behavior.

In the end, the forum panel members rejected all the respondent's defenses. According to ICANN policy, the disputed domain name is identical to and easily confused with the MIT trademark, the defendant has no rights or legitimate interests, and the domain name is registered and used in bad faith. Therefore, an order was issued to transfer the mit.school domain name from the defendant to the complainant.

This case clearly warns everyone that attempts to register famous trademark domain names and profit in the name of "protecting the brand" are doomed to fail. Respecting trademark rights and using domain names legally is the right way.