Disney victorious in battle for domain names

Disney Enterprises recently won back two domain names that had been infringing on its 1981 US trademark.

The domain names in question were disneyriverdruises.com and disneyspecialist.com registered in August 2015 and August 2014 respectively by an individual named Mark Brekhus.

According to the World IP Review, Disney filed a complaint to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum in June declaring that the registered websites were inactive meaning that as well as infringing on their trademark, the name was also being used in bad faith and the owner evidently had no interest in it.

In July, since no response was received from the domain’s owner, the domains were passed to Disney by Ho Hyun Nahm, a panellist.

In his decision, Nahm agreed with Disney that the names of the domains were indeed similar to that of their trademark and that they must have been registered in bad faith. Brekhus would have known of the existence of their mark since their brand is renowned worldwide.

It is a common misconception that domain name ownership is equivalent to owning a trademark and therefore grants the owner trademark rights. However, a domain name can be registered as  a trademark if it acts as a source indicator for the goods or services that the company provides.

In this increasingly digitalised world, companies have to remain vigilant  in order to protect their brands from infringement. By owning a trademark for your goods you would be able to enforce your trademark rights both on and offline giving your brand a greater level of protection as well as increasing its value.

For advice and more information on searching, acquiring, registering and enforcing Trademarks please visit our website, http://www.lipex.com.
Our unique database of trademarks for sale or license could save you time and help protect your brand.