(while I'm in complaint mode)
Mostly (so far at least), the STOP .biz procedure
has delivered fair decisions, with complaints over generic terms like domainbank.biz,
immediate.biz etc. being denied. But as usual, WIPO are so fucking inconsistent.
The latest .biz case is dbiz2001-00010 for the name: lauren.biz
Ralf Lauren won
this case against a man who bought it for his daughter named Lauren. This was a plainly
wrong decision as Lauren is a popular girl's name - and as has been seen with the
UDRP, this is sufficient to show the registrant's rights to a name.
One thing
that consistently fucks me off with these cases is that you get comments like this
in the 'factual background' (i.e. WIPO-written) section:
"In fiscal year 2001,
products bearing Complainant's trademarks had worldwide wholesale net sales of more
than US$4.7 billion. In the same period, more than US$55 million was spent in advertising
such products."
So fucking what? They could have spent the GDP of China on marketing
their precious brand, but it still shouldn't detract from the fact that the name
is a common one, and one that affords everyday citizens the right the use it under
common law.
Such blatant favouritism towards the deeper pocketed of the parties
flies in the face of the rule of law anyway - i.e. fair and equitable justice to
all.
Oh and by the way, Mr Scott Donhey (panelist) - you really suck.