Coin wins had bought binance.ae for $300,000 in domain name dispute

As legal frameworks become increasingly sophisticated, domain brand protection has also become more stringent. As a domain investor, it is essential to have some understanding of legal concepts, particularly intellectual property and trademark rights. Accidentally registering a domain with brand protection can result in significant losses.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has successfully claimed ownership of the domain binance.ae after a legal dispute, defeating an individual who had acquired the domain for $300,000.

In this battle, Kirill Zalipaev purchased the domain in November 2021 for a high price of $300,000 through Sedo. At that time, confusion arose as there was no apparent connection between Zalipaev and Binance. It was later confirmed that Zalipaev had acquired the domain with the intention of selling it to Binance at a higher price.

Reportedly, in July 2022, Zalipaev approached Binance through an intermediary, proposing to sell the domain for $1,447,000. About a year later, he increased the asking price to $1,466,677.

When Binance contacted Zalipaev directly via email, he proposed a different price that still exceeded $1 million.

Subsequently, Binance initiated a domain dispute under the .ae domain policy. Zalipaev appeared to be unfamiliar with trademarks and .ae policies, as summarized by Scott Blackmer, a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

The respondent did not contest the complainant's trademark claims but argued that .ae domain policies do not restrict domain ownership based on trademark principles. Therefore, the respondent (without legal representation) expressed belief in not infringing upon the complainant's intellectual property.

Regarding the issue of malicious registration or use, Blackmer pointed out that Zalipaev's emails indicated his awareness of the disputed domain's value to the complainant. From his responses, it seemed the respondent mistakenly believed he was operating in a trademark-free zone, which was not the case.

In reality, Zalipaev did not hire a lawyer to defend the domain dispute. He has just lost control of a domain he spent $300,000 to acquire.