URS decision for suspended ibm.ventures and ibm.guru published: a response was filed

The domain namess ibm.ventures and ibm.guru were suspended on the 12th of February after the URS complaint by IBM. That was just 6 days after the URS complaint by IBM at the National Arbitration Forum on the 6th of February. The decision was published today.

That was the first URS complaint filled for any New gTLD domain name and the first decision.

There was actually a response submitted by the owner but it was only 3 sentences.

This is how the panelists described the response: “Respondent states only that the domains were to be used for a news and/or community support website. There is no indication of any authorization to use the Complainant’s mark. The Respondent believes others are using the mark but offers no support or details regarding the alleged use. Use by others is not justification for the Respondent to use Complainant’s mark.”

The 2 domains were being forwarded to IBM.com.

The case was pretty straight forward and the panelist didn’t much time with the decision especially taking into account the small URS fee.

The domains were registered for $1,239.99 each on day 3 of the Donuts Early Access Program (EAP). Now the domains are suspended meaning the the owner can’t use them.

I suppose that the 2 domains will expire next year and no one will be able to register them after that because since filling for the URS complaint above, IBM has activated the DPML block.

Through the URS Procedure ICANN offers a lower-cost, faster path to relief for rights holders experiencing clear-cut cases of infringement caused by domain name registrations. The URS filling fee at the National Arbitration Forum is $375 for up to 14 domain names. The URS can only lead to suspension of the domain names. The URS will not provide the transfer of the disputed domain name to the trademark holder. If the trademark owner wants to take ownership of and use the disputed domain, it should instead file a UDRP complaint or other legal action.