Sanofi-aventis v Shaun Breen [2007] DRS 4747 (3 September 2007)

Sanofi-aventis v Shaun Breen [2007] DRS 4747 (3 September 2007)

The respondent registered the domain names to divert business to his own competing website, taking unfair advantage of and disrupting the complainant's rights in the ACOMPLIA mark. The use of the domain names is likely to cause confusion among the public as to the origin or association of the products. The registration and use constitute abusive registration under the Nominet DRS Policy.

Citation
[2007] DRS 4747
Parties
Complainant: Sanofi-aventis; Respondent: Shaun Breen
Jurisdiction
United Kingdom
Judgment Date
03 September 2007
Procedural Posture
Domain Name Dispute / Expert Determination
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

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Parties

Sanofi-aventis

Complainant

Shaun Breen

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Domain Name Dispute / Expert Determination

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the complainant has rights in respect of a name or mark identical or similar to the domain names
  2. 2 Whether the domain names in the hands of the respondent constitute abusive registration under the Nominet DRS Policy

Ratio Decidendi

The respondent registered the domain names to divert business to his own competing website, taking unfair advantage of and disrupting the complainant's rights in the ACOMPLIA mark. The use of the domain names is likely to cause confusion among the public as to the origin or association of the products. The registration and use constitute abusive registration under the Nominet DRS Policy.

Court Disposition

Complaint upheld

Orders

  • Transfer of the domain names buyacompliapills.co.uk, acompliadietpills.co.uk, and acompliapills.co.uk to the complainant