Gocompare Com Ltd (trading as Gocompare.Com) v Maxfield (gocompareloans.co.uk) [2009] DRS 7178 (19 October 2009)

Gocompare Com Ltd (trading as Gocompare.Com) v Maxfield (gocompareloans.co.uk) [2009] DRS 7178 (19 October 2009)

The complainant established rights in the GOCOMPARE mark, and the addition of 'loans' does not negate similarity. The respondent likely knew of the complainant's business and registered the domain to unfairly disrupt its business, satisfying the criteria for abusive registration under the DRS Policy.

Citation
[2009] DRS 7178
Parties
Complainant: Gocompare.com Ltd; Respondent: Arthur Maxfield
Jurisdiction
United Kingdom
Judgment Date
19 October 2009
Procedural Posture
Domain Name Dispute / Expert Decision
Outcome
Complaint upheld
Legal Topics
Domain Names, Trade Marks, Passing Off, Abusive Registration
Intellectual Property Internet Law Domain Names Trade Marks Passing Off Abusive Registration

Case Brief

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Parties

Gocompare.com Ltd

Complainant

Arthur Maxfield

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Domain Name Dispute / Expert Decision

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the complainant has rights in a name or mark identical or similar to the domain name
  2. 2 Whether the domain name in the hands of the respondent is an abusive registration

Ratio Decidendi

The complainant established rights in the GOCOMPARE mark, and the addition of 'loans' does not negate similarity. The respondent likely knew of the complainant's business and registered the domain to unfairly disrupt its business, satisfying the criteria for abusive registration under the DRS Policy.

Court Disposition

Complaint upheld

Orders

  • The domain name gocompareloans.co.uk is to be transferred to the complainant.