Seiko, the watch brand, has won its battle for the domain name
“seiko-shop.co.uk” . The ruling was issued by a panel set up by
Nominet, the UK domain name registry. This is the first appeal
decision to be made under Nominet’s Dispute Resolution Service
(DRS), which is the new resolution procedure for .uk internet
domain disputes.
The domain name in dispute was registered two years ago by
Designer Time/Wanderweb, an independent watch retailer, which sold
Seiko watches on its web site. Wanderweb had also registered the
domain name “spoonwatchshop.co.uk” for a web site that sold Seiko’s
Spoon range.
Seiko claimed that the retailer infringed its trademark by using
its brand name, and that the registration of the domain names was
abusive.
Wanderweb denied that the registration was abusive, claiming
that Seiko’s brand name was only used to promote sales of Seiko
products. The initial decision by a Nominet-appointed expert
favoured Seiko, however, Nominet’s new dispute resolution procedure
allowed Designer Time to subsequently appeal that decision.
The appeal panel has now upheld the original ruling, finding
that the retailer took “unfair advantage” of the Seiko trademark.
The three experts agreed that Seiko “has not set up a franchise in
which all the retailers would be allowed to call themselves Seiko”
and that Wanderweb was using the brand name to suggest that it was
the “official” Seiko shop for the UK.
The decision therefore confirmed that the registration of the
two domain names was abusive and in dismissing the appeal, the
panel determined that both domain names should be transferred to
Seiko.
The DRS does not replace court proceedings, however, DRS
decisions are binding on the parties involved and Nominet has the
authority to transfer, cancel or suspend domain name registrations
on the basis of DRS decisions.
