Sunday, 27 January 2013 07:11 Domain News
An arbitrator with the National Arbitration Forum has recently awarded Microsoft three XBox-related domain names: XBoxMusicPassFree.com , XBoxLive2Days.info and XBoxLiveRewards.net .
The company submitted a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum on November 29,2012,asserting legal rights over the disputed domain name.
Microsoft owns many trademark registrations for the "XBox" and "XBox Live" marks.Therefore,it is more than obvious that the disputed domain names are confusingly similar to its trademark.The company also managed to demonstrate that the respondent had no rights and legitimate interest in the disputed domain names and that the respondent registered and used the disputed domain names in bad faith .
"Respondent attempts to commercially benefit, unfairly and opportunistically, from the goodwill associated with Complainant’s XBOX and XBOX LIVE marks and the confusion Respondent creates concerning the source and sponsorship of the at-issue websites. Complainant shows that the at-issue domain names address websites that promote competing music services. Respondent’s use of the confusingly similar at-issue domain names to promote competing services demonstrates bad faith registration and use under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv). See Luck’s Music Library v. Stellar Artist Mgmt., FA 95650 (Nat. Arb. Forum Oct. 30, 2000) (finding that the respondent engaged in bad faith use and registration by using domain names that were identical or confusingly similar to the complainant’s mark to redirect users to a website that offered services similar to those offered by the complainant); see also Microsoft Corp. v. Jean Pierre Lafont a/k/a Yasir Yasir, FA 1349611 (Nat. Arb. Forum Nov. 9, 2009) (finding “intentional appropriation of Complainant’s mark to mislead Internet users and subsequently profit from them reveals bad faith registration and use under Policy ¶ 4(b)(iv)”)."
The Panel ordered the disputed domain names to be transferred from the respondent to the complainant.
You can read the decision here .
"Complainant has not licensed or otherwise authorize
