Thread: Owner of DKB.com Loses Domain in WIPO Case

I find this latest WIPO decision hard to believe. Deutsche Kreditbank AG won the domain DKB.com from DKB Data Services (USA), Inc.

The respondent did not file a response, but it seems the company may have merged with another company and "DKB Data Services (USA), Inc." was dissolved. The disputed domain DKB.com was never used.

- any intention to use the disputed domain name by the Respondent now would be of limited value to its operation as a business (if indeed such business still exists), considering that it has changed its name from DKB to MHCB;

But where is the bad faith? Does this mean any company that merges with another will lose all its domains if it doesn't keep the same company name?

Another thing to note:

In this case it is not clear to the Panel, on the evidence before it, whether the Complainant’s reputation and DKB trade mark are widely known outside of Germany or Europe. The Respondent’s address in the WHOIS records is New Jersey in the United States of America, and it would be reasonable to conclude that the Respondent was not aware of the Complainant’s trade marks at the time of registering the disputed domain name (although the Complainant does own a DKB trade mark which pre-dates registration of the disputed domain name by seven years).

In my opinion, the panel shouldn't have awarded the domain to the complainant bank. What do you think?

Read the decision here

Originally Posted by Ceres

The respondent did not file a response

This is the essence of the case and seems main reason for domain loss by the registrant.

Originally Posted by Mitsu

This is the essence of the case and seems main reason for domain loss by the registrant.

While I agree that responding to a complaint will increase your chances of winning, I have seen past WIPO cases where the respondent won even though it didn't file a response. I feel this should have been one of those cases.

Due to the company merger (and out-of-date whois), I wonder if the respondent even knows about this complaint...?

Originally Posted by Mitsu

This is the essence of the case and seems main reason for domain loss by the registrant.

Would they have even been informed there was a complaint? If not how would they have been able to have appealed?

Originally Posted by -MM-

Would they have even been informed there was a complaint? If not how would they have been able to have appealed?

All respondents are informed of such complaints. The contact info is taken from the Whois. If that's out-of-date, then the respondent may not know about the dispute unless and until the domain is taken away from them! This highlights how important it is to keep your Whois up-to-date.

Now what I'm confused about is why would a "dissolved company" still be advertising? See:

(1) According to this listing, the company has been a member of the Ketera Network since February 11, 2009. It looks like it's the same company as the respondent.

(2) The company is also listed on Yellow Pages (http://www.yellowpages.com/info-8668413/Dkb-Data-Services). Same address as on the Whois for dkb.com, but different telephone number.