Morgan Stanley v John Morrison [2006] DRS 3189 (2 February 2006)

Morgan Stanley v John Morrison [2006] DRS 3189 (2 February 2006)

The complainant established rights in the name 'Morgan Stanley' through extensive use and trade mark registrations. The domain name is a minor misspelling and confusingly similar. The respondent's registration and use of the domain name was for the purpose of unfairly disrupting the complainant's business, confusing the public, and is part of a pattern of abusive registrations. The domain name constitutes an abusive registration and should be transferred to the complainant.

Citation
[2006] DRS 3189
Parties
Complainant: Morgan Stanley; Respondent: John Morrison
Jurisdiction
United Kingdom
Judgment Date
02 February 2006
Procedural Posture
Nominet UK Dispute Resolution Service (drs) Domain Name Dispute / Expert Decision Following No Response From Respondent
Outcome
Complaint upheld; domain name to be transferred to complainant.
Legal Topics
Domain Name Disputes, Trade Marks, Passing Off, Abusive Registration, Typo Squatting
Intellectual Property Internet Law Domain Name Disputes Trade Marks Passing Off Abusive Registration Typo Squatting

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Parties

Morgan Stanley

Complainant

John Morrison

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Nominet UK Dispute Resolution Service (drs) Domain Name Dispute / Expert Decision Following No Response From Respondent

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 constitutes an abusive registration

Ratio Decidendi

The complainant established rights in the name 'Morgan Stanley' through extensive use and trade mark registrations. The domain name is a minor misspelling and confusingly similar. The respondent's registration and use of the domain name was for the purpose of unfairly disrupting the complainant's business, confusing the public, and is part of a pattern of abusive registrations. The domain name constitutes an abusive registration and should be transferred to the complainant.

Court Disposition

Complaint upheld; domain name to be transferred to complainant.

Orders

  • The domain name morganstanlry.co.uk is to be transferred to Morgan Stanley.