Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc v [2009] DRS 6935 (11 May 2009)

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc v [2009] DRS 6935 (11 May 2009)

The complainant has established rights in the 'Le Meridien' mark, the domain name is confusingly similar, and the respondent's use is likely to confuse the public into believing a connection with the complainant, constituting abusive registration under the DRS Policy.

Citation
[2009] DRS 6935
Parties
Complainant: Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc.; Complainant: Societé des Hôtels Meridien; Respondent: Sean Gerrity
Jurisdiction
United Kingdom
Judgment Date
11 May 2009
Procedural Posture
Domain Name Dispute / Expert Determination
Outcome
domain name transfer ordered
Legal Topics
Domain Name Dispute, Trade Mark Rights, Abusive Registration
Intellectual Property Information Technology Domain Name Dispute Trade Mark Rights Abusive Registration

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Parties

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc.

Complainant

Societé des Hôtels Meridien

Complainant

Sean Gerrity

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Domain Name Dispute / Expert Determination

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 has established rights in the 'Le Meridien' mark, the domain name is confusingly similar, and the respondent's use is likely to confuse the public into believing a connection with the complainant, constituting abusive registration under the DRS Policy.

Court Disposition

domain name transfer ordered

Orders

  • Transfer of lemeridiandubai.co.uk to Societé des Hôtels Meridien