Case Number: D2021-1861
Complainant: Lerins & BCW
Represented by: Internally represented
A French consortium operating under the moniker of Lerins & BCW has been found guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking for attempting to grab the domain lerins.com from its current owner. The consortium owns a 2007 French trademark for the mark “lerins”, but that mark was only acquired by the company in December of 2020, although Lerins & BCW had been licensed to use the mark by its own predecessor company, which then sold the current firm the trademark via a self-appointed liquidator.
The convoluted ownership trail notwithstanding, the current owner of the domain only acquired it in 2020, himself; however, the domain has been registered since 1999. The respondent in the case, who was represented by the New York City law firm of Levine Samuel, LLP, noted that neither the current Lerins & BCW nor its predecessor companies and liquidator made no previous effort to acquire the domain. The response further presented the fact the complainant had attempted to purchase the domain from its previous registrant, but failed to reach an agreement to do so.
A three-member panel of the World Intellectual Property Organization found Lerins & BCW guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking on August 7, 2021.
Source: https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=D2021-1861