An administrative panel of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) has ordered the transfer of the domain name “nyjets.com” to the owner of the New York Jets football team. The panel determined, among other things, that the registrant’s unsupported assertions of plans to use the name for an aircraft leasing business did not prove it had rights or legitimate interests in the name.
NFL Properties LLC and New York Jets LLC brought this WIPO action under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, seeking a transfer of nyjets.com from Link Commercial Corp., a company located in the Bahamas. The Complainants argued that (1) the domain name was confusingly similar to the NEW YORK JETS and NY JETS trademarks, (2) the registrant had no rights or legitimate interests with respect to the domain name, and (3) the domain name had been registered and used in bad faith.
The panel awarded a transfer of the domain name. The transfer was ordered, however, only to the New York Jets and not NFL Properties, because the record showed that NFL Properties was merely a representative of the New York Jets regarding licensing and protection of trademark rights. The panel held that “[a]ppointment as a representative to exploit property does not necessarily confer rights in that property on the representative.”
The panel determined that the domain name was confusingly similar to the registered mark NEW YORK JETS. If further determined that Link had not proven it had rights or legitimate interests to use the domain name for an aircraft leasing business. The first mention of one “Norman Yacopino Jets” at nyjets.com came after the NFL and the New York Jets had challenged Link’s ownership of the name. Link had made “unsubstantiated assertions” that its preparation to use the name for this business pre-dated being contacted by the Complainants. The panel determined, however, that such assertions “[did] not constitute evidence of demonstrable preparations.”
In determining that Link had registered and used the name in bad faith, the panel looked to the elevated price Link at which it had offered the name for sale (no less than $2,000), and the fact that Link had a history of registering other domain names in bad faith.
NFL Prop. LLC v. Link Commercial Corp., Case No. D2004-1087 (March 10, 2005).