Client: a leading global automotive manufacturer, owner of a well-known trademark registered in Ukraine and worldwide.
An individual registered a domain name in the Ukrainian ccTLD incorporating the client’s trademark and used it for commercial sale of automotive parts. Upon receiving a cease-and-desist letter, the registrant converted the website into an automotive news portal, attempting to create the appearance of non-commercial, legitimate use.
We filed a complaint under the UA DRP procedure at the WIPO Centre, proving confusing similarity with the client’s trademarks, the respondent’s lack of legitimate rights, and bad faith registration. The core of our strategy was evidence gathered from web archives, business registries, and content analysis, exposing the post-demand content change as an attempt to evade liability rather than a genuine shift in purpose.
The WIPO Centre granted the complaint and ordered transfer of the domain name to the client. The artificial post-demand content change was treated as further evidence of bad faith, not as grounds for recognizing legitimate use. This reinforces protections for iconic brands against opportunistic domain registrations in Ukraine’s ccTLD.
Procedure
UA DRP (WIPO)
Sector
Automotive
Respondent’s tactic
Content change
Outcome
Domain transferred
Contact us for a confidential consultation on UA DRP proceedings.