I strongly oppose this recent case:http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains/decisions/html/2001/d2001-1125.html
Here,
a company in Turkey got the name merci.com taken from them by a Germany comapny.
merci is a generic word - goddamit - just because it is in French, doesn't mean
that it is't as significant as an English word.
Just because the site was not
used to resolve to a website, shouldn't be grounds for them to lose it (they may
have been using the domain for email, or had plans to develop it).
Just because
they didn't respond to the case they shouldn't be penalised. They may not have understood
English or just couldn't afford to respond (how much does it cost?) In most Civil
cases, just because you don't turn up for court, dosn't mean that the case is automatically
decided against you.
Just because they "informally" asked for $100,000 for the
name dosen't mean didly squat. For god's sake, that's the value of generic dot coms
these days - what just because they didn't say "well you can pay be $35 x 5 years
for my name and I'll be happy", then they should be penalised.
Making a profit
on names is the cornerstone of any capitalist economy, why should they be penalised
for asking for the true value of their asset??!!!!
And just because they lost a
previous case (because they also didn't contest it - probably because they couldn't
afford it), that shouldn't be used against them. In Civil court in the States, previous
allegations are not allowed to be used against you.
The guy lived in Turkey for
God's sake. He probably never heard of 'merci magazine' or whatever it's called.
I certainly haven't until now. But even then I'd contest this stupid decision.
WIPO
are getting too bloody one-sided for their own good. WAKE UP PEOPLE AND REALISE >
generic uses of words are perfectly legitimate and trademark owners shouldn't fricken
abuse their rights.
Bastards.
How much does it cost to respond to these
stupid WIPO cases anyway?