Case Number: DAU2013-0023
Complainant: Cairns Airport Pty Ltd of Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Represented by: McCullough Robertson Lawyers, Australia
WIPO Domain Name Decision: DAU2013-0023
Cairns Airport Pty Ltd of Cairns, Queensland, Australia, represented by McCullough Robertson Lawyers, Australia has been found GUILTY of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking on two domain names owned by two different owners; cairnsairportparking.com.au (first domain name) and airportparkingcairns.net.au (second domain name)
“Paragraph 15(e) of the Rules provides that, if “after considering the submissions the Panel finds that the complaint was brought in bad faith, for example in an attempt at Reverse Domain Name Hijacking or was brought primarily to harass the domain-name holder, the Panel shall declare in its decision that the complaint was brought in bad faith and constitutes an abuse of the administrative proceeding”.
“Reverse Domain Name Hijacking is defined under the Rules as “using the Policy in bad faith to attempt to deprive a registered domain-name holder of a domain name”.
“The Panel finds that the First Respondent’s contentions as to a course of conduct on the part of the Complainant to harass him and undermine his business, exploiting its superior financial power, to be credible in light of the evidence tendered by the First Respondent and not contradicted by the Complainant.”
“In the opinion of the Panel, these proceedings form a part of that conduct in that it is clear that Complainant has been parsimonious with the facts behind the dispute, which were amply evidenced by the First Respondent, in particular when it commenced use of the name “Cairns Airport”.
“When faced with the First Respondent’s evidence the Complainant did not refile but sought leave to file a supplement to the Complaint which did nothing to rebut the First Respondent’s evidence and, indeed tended to repeat the partial and prejudicial statements already made.”
“Whilst a finding of Reverse Domain Name hijacking will rarely be found in the case of a genuine dispute, in the circumstances of this case the Panel finds that the Complainant, was well aware of the prior use by the First Respondent of the business name “Cairns Airport Parking” and the effect of that on the Respondents’ rights. In bringing this Complaint in the light of that knowledge and offering an incomplete account of the history of the name, the Complainant has engaged in Reverse Domain Name Hijacking.”
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Source: http://www.thedomains.com/2013/11/07/cairns-airport-pty-ltd-of-queensland-australia-guilty-of-reverse-domain-name-hijacking-rdnh/