RDNH Case D2018-2116

The domain name dispute case D2018-2116, adjudicated by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, involved V-Guard Industries Limited of India as the complainant and Taesong Chong of South Korea as the respondent. The case centered around the domain name vguard.com. V-Guard Industries, established in 1977, is a manufacturer and seller of electrical and electronic equipment in India. They own the Indian trademark for V-GUARD. The domain name in question was created on January 15, 2004, and was used for a parked webpage with links to third-party advertisers. V-Guard contended that the domain name infringed upon its trademark and was registered in bad faith. Taesong Chong, however, denied any prior knowledge of V-Guard’s trademark and claimed to have plans for using the domain for a virtual security guard business.

The panel, led by W. Scott Blackmer, concluded that while the domain name was confusingly similar to V-Guard’s trademark, the complainant failed to prove that the respondent had no legitimate interest in the domain name or that it was registered and used in bad faith. Consequently, the complaint was denied. The panel did not find evidence of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH) as requested by the respondent. The decision was made on November 12, 2018.

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The domain name dispute case D2018-2116, adjudicated by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, involved V-Guard Industries Limited of India as the complainant and Taesong Chong of South Korea as the respondent. The case centered around the domain name vguard.com. V-Guard Industries, established in 1977, is a manufacturer and seller of electrical and electronic equipment…