Case Number: D2020-2725
Complainant: Function 4, LLC
Represented by: Madan Law PLLC
A single-member panel of the World Intellectual Property Organization wrote a scathing rebuke of the Texas company, Function 4, and the law firm representing that company, Madan Law, PLLC, as it issued a ruling of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking against Function 4 for using the UDRP process to attempt to acquire the domain function4.com.
The current registrant of function4.com, Michael McGrath, originally registered the domain in 2001 for a Massachusetts company, also called Function 4. The domain is still used for email purposes, although the Massachusetts company no longer operates. The Texas company was issued a trademark for Function 4 in 2016, fully 15 years after the original domain name registration.
In issuing the ruling, the sole panelist, Frederick M. Abbott, was most direct in his opinion. “In filing its complaint, Complainant acted in willful or grossly negligent disregard of known facts concerning Respondent,” he said. “Because of Complainant’s blatant disregard of jurisprudence … and facts, the Panel finds that Complainant has engaged in Reverse Domain Name Hijacking.”
The ruling was handed up January 17, 2021.
Source: https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=D2020-2725