Case Number: D2020-2597
Complainant: Tecme S.A.
Represented by: Clarke, Modet & Co.
An Argentina-based manufacturer of medical ventilators has been found guilty of attempted Reverse Domain Name Hijacking in their attempt to use the UDRP process to acquire the domain tecme.com. The domain registrant, Stephen Bougourd, of the Bailiwick of Jersey, first acquired the domain in 2000. The single-member panel at the World Intellectual Property Organization issued its ruling against Tecme, S.A. of Córdoba, Argentina on November 24, 2020.
Tecme, S.A. was represented by the law firm of Clarke, Modet & Co., which presented the UDRP panel with a list of trademarks Tecme, S.A. owns, including one in the United States. The trademarks formed the backbone of the Tecme case against Mr. Bougourd, who stated he bought the domain to provide technology support to clients. The name, itself, he responded, is an acronym for “technology made easy”.
While Mr. Bougourd did not request a finding of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking, the lone panelist reviewing the case at WIPO, Mr. W. Scott Blackmer, noted the registration year of techme.com predates the earliest trademark of Tecme, S.A. by over a decade, and was made about 16 years before the registration of the Tecme, S.A.’s U.S. trademark.
“Altogether, the Complaint displays a remarkable lack of realism that warrants an unsolicited finding of reverse domain name hijacking,” Mr. Blackmer concluded, closing out his written RDNH finding.
Source: https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=D2020-2597