betplays.com UDRP complaint dismissed, complainant failed to prove bad faith registration

Corredor Empresarial S.A., the operator of online gaming brand BetPlay, filed a UDRP dispute complaint against the domain name betplays.com, attempting to transfer the domain name to its own name, but was dismissed by the WIPO panel. The ruling held that the respondent Creative Alliance Solutions had legitimate rights and interests in the domain name and did not register it in bad faith.

The complainant holds multiple trademarks related to BetPlay, which are mainly used in Colombia and Latin American markets. It claims that the domain name "betplays.com" constitutes trademark infringement and is not currently in actual use, and should be considered as a preemptive registration.

However, the respondent submitted evidence showing that it has registered the domain name and launched a gaming platform since 2022, and has obtained a formal gaming license for operation. It currently holds an Anjouan license, and the website has not attempted to piggyback on the complainant's brand traffic.

The expert group pointed out that the "betplays" contained in the domain name is a common word combination, lacking direct originality, and the complainant has not been able to prove that the other party knows its brand or deliberately confuses users. At the same time, the domain name was registered several years earlier than the complaint was filed. The complainant had previously tried to acquire it but failed, and then filed a UDRP.

In the end, the expert group determined that the complainant failed to prove the "bad faith registration" in the three elements, rejected the complaint and ruled that the domain name should maintain its original holding status, and did not determine that this case constituted reverse domain name hijacking.

This case once again reflects that even if the trademark owner has a certain degree of popularity, if it cannot prove that there is targeted behavior when registering the domain name, the UDRP procedure will still give priority to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the holder.

Source: Domaingang