German medical device company Stormoff wins back domain name Dixion.com

Recently, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) ruled that German medical device company Stormoff NRW GmbH has successfully reclaimed its brand-related domain name, Dixion.com. The company has owned the "DIXION" trademark since 2005. The respondent in this arbitration was Yerkin Dlimbetov, an entrepreneur who operates the competing brand Ordamed.

According to case records, Dlimbetov purchased Dixion.com in 2021 for $15,000. Prior to that, the domain name had been sold for $1,353 on the DropCatch platform in 2018. Stormoff claims that Dixion.com is identical to its own trademark and its use in marketing within the same medical device field is highly likely to cause market confusion.

Arbitration documents show that Dixion.com had been publicly listed for sale and, for a period of time, redirected to Ordamed's official website. After learning of this, Stormoff attempted to repurchase the domain name for $25,000, but was refused. Subsequently, the respondent demanded $100,000. The panel concluded that this action demonstrated the applicant's primary purpose in registering and using the domain name was to seek commercial gain, and that it placed the applicant in direct competition with the trademark owner.

After review, the WIPO panel determined that the registration and use of Dixion.com constituted malicious intent. The panel pointed out that the respondent, knowing that "DIXION" was already a registered trademark in the medical device field, still purchased the domain name and used it commercially, constituting a typical case of malicious registration squatting. Ultimately, the panel ordered the domain name to be transferred to the trademark holder.