VisitBritain v RC Johnson [2007] DRS 4250 (29 March 2007)

VisitBritain v RC Johnson [2007] DRS 4250 (29 March 2007)

The complainant established common law rights in 'enjoyEngland' through extensive use and branding. Although the term is descriptive, it is not wholly descriptive of the complainant's business and thus rights can be relied upon. The respondents registered and used the domain names in a manner that took unfair advantage of the complainant's rights, intending to benefit from the complainant's goodwill and reputation, constituting abusive registration under the Policy.

Citation
[2007] DRS 4250
Parties
Complainant: VisitBritain; Respondent: R C Johnson; Respondent: Enjoy England Limited
Jurisdiction
United Kingdom
Judgment Date
29 March 2007
Procedural Posture
Domain Name Dispute / Expert Decision
Outcome
Complaint upheld
Legal Topics
Domain Name Disputes, Trade Marks, Passing Off, Abusive Registration
Intellectual Property Information Technology Domain Name Disputes Trade Marks Passing Off Abusive Registration

Case Brief

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Parties

VisitBritain

Complainant

R C Johnson

Respondent

Enjoy England Limited

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 names
  2. 2 Whether the domain names in the hands of the respondents constitute abusive registration under the Nominet DRS Policy

Ratio Decidendi

The complainant established common law rights in 'enjoyEngland' through extensive use and branding. Although the term is descriptive, it is not wholly descriptive of the complainant's business and thus rights can be relied upon. The respondents registered and used the domain names in a manner that took unfair advantage of the complainant's rights, intending to benefit from the complainant's goodwill and reputation, constituting abusive registration under the Policy.

Court Disposition

Complaint upheld

Orders

  • The domain names enjoy-england.co.uk and enjoy-england.org.uk are to be transferred to the complainant.