Case Number: D2021-0225
Complainant: Savoia NYC Incorporated
Represented by: Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld, LLC
A single-member panel of the World Intellectual Property Organization has found a New York-based company, Savoia NYC Incorporated, guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking in connection with the company’s attempt to use the URDP process to acquire the domain cro-mags.com. The domain was once used by both a representative of the complainant and by the respondent, collectively, when they were members of the same home-town music group, Cro Mags. Former band member Harley Flanagan later became associated with Savioa. The domain was originally registered in 1999 by another former band member, Parris Mayhew, who still owns the domain.
The music group split in the early 2000’s, but Mr. Mayhew continues to use the site to post photos of the band’s old appearances and current media events, according to his response. Meanwhile, Savoia, represented by the law firm of Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld, LLC, cited its association with the former band member, Mr. Flanagan, and recently-registered trademarks, as key tenets of its rights in the disputed domain name.
However, the single panelist, Frederick M. Abbott, denied the complaint on the grounds the domain was neither registered in bad faith nor being used in bad faith, key elements of any UDRP case.
“The Panel determines that Complainant and its counsel have engaged in RDNH by initiating this proceeding in bad faith and seeking to acquire the disputed domain name without adequate regard to the facts or law,” he concluded.
The ruling was handed up March 11, 2021.
Source: https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=D2021-0225