Case Number: D2023-0977
Complainant: Valallan LLC
Represented by: Internally represented
A company that claims to engage in online sports entertainment and games has been found guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking for attempting to steal the domain Vallhallan.com from its current owner. The sole panelist of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Robert A. Badgley, handed up his ruling against Valhallan LLC on May 12, 2023, citing numerous omissions of key information. Mr. Badgley referred to the company’s filing, followed by several annexes, as attempting to inform the panel about crucial case information on a “need to know basis”.
Most notable for Mr. Badgley was the fact Valallan LLC attempted to use a trademark application as giving it rights in the domain, in addition to the fact the domain owner appears to use the website at vallhallan.com to write unflattering commentary about the CEO of Valhallan LLC. However, Mr. Badgley was clearly put off by the fact the trademark application had been denied.
“Complainant, represented by counsel (indeed, the same counsel who received the USPTO refusal notice), has abused this process by concealing the true status of the USPTO application,” Badgley wrote.
Source: https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/pdf/2023/d2023-0977.pdf