Masai.com case fails because of higher burden of proof
22 May 2012
|
Simon Crompton, London
Danish clothing brand Masai has failed to have the Masai.com domain transferred in a UDRP case, illustrating the burden of proof required with a descriptive term
Masai brought the case against Chinese company Ashanti, which had bought Masai.com on the secondary market in 2006. Masai makes branded clothing, including footwear, while Ashanti used the site to link to Africa-related sites.
The Danish company owns several trade marks for Masai, but despite the acquired distinctiveness it must therefore have established (and the obvious similarity to the domain), those marks are less significant in a UDRP case.
This...
Only subscribers have complete access to Managing IP,
log in or
subscribe now.
Alternatively take a
free trial, giving you seven days access to Managing IP and regular newsletters for the international IP community, and US and Canadian practitioners specifically.
Subscribe Now
This article is available to subscribers. Please click subscribe to read the rest of the article.
Subscribe
Take a free trial
Please take a free 48-hour trial to gain limited access. Some articles and surveys may be excluded.
Take a free trial