Ford Motor Company, Jaguar Cars Ltd, Land Rover v Lee [2005] DRS 02520 (22 June 2005)

Ford Motor Company, Jaguar Cars Ltd, Land Rover v Lee [2005] DRS 02520 (22 June 2005)

The complainants have rights in the names FORD, JAGUAR, and LAND ROVER, which are similar to the domain names. The respondent's registration and use of the domain names, particularly jaguarmaindealer.co.uk, was primarily for the purpose of selling to the complainants at an inflated price and as blocking registrations. The use of the domain names is likely to confuse and is unfairly detrimental to the complainants' rights. The respondent is engaged in a pattern of registering domain names corresponding to well-known trademarks without rights.

Citation
[2005] DRS 02520
Parties
Complainant: Ford Motor Company; Complainant: Jaguar Cars Limited; Complainant: Land Rover; Respondent: Mr Danny Lee
Jurisdiction
United Kingdom
Judgment Date
22 June 2005
Procedural Posture
Domain Name Dispute / Decision of Independent Expert
Outcome
Complaint upheld
Legal Topics
Trade Marks, Domain Name Disputes, Passing Off, Abusive Registration
Intellectual Property Domain Name Law Trade Marks Domain Name Disputes Passing Off Abusive Registration

Case Brief

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Parties

Ford Motor Company

Complainant

Jaguar Cars Limited

Complainant

Land Rover

Complainant

Mr Danny Lee

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Domain Name Dispute / Decision of Independent Expert

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the complainants have rights in names or marks similar to the domain names
  2. 2 Whether the domain names are abusive registrations under the Nominet UK DRS Policy

Ratio Decidendi

The complainants have rights in the names FORD, JAGUAR, and LAND ROVER, which are similar to the domain names. The respondent's registration and use of the domain names, particularly jaguarmaindealer.co.uk, was primarily for the purpose of selling to the complainants at an inflated price and as blocking registrations. The use of the domain names is likely to confuse and is unfairly detrimental to the complainants' rights. The respondent is engaged in a pattern of registering domain names corresponding to well-known trademarks without rights.

Court Disposition

Complaint upheld

Orders

  • Transfer of fordevents.co.uk to Ford
  • Transfer of landroverevents.co.uk to Land Rover