Charter Communications, Inc. et al. v. Perfect Privacy, LLC / Sheri K Corwin: A Case of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking

In the WIPO domain name dispute case D2017-0040, Charter Communications, Inc. and its subsidiaries, the complainants, filed against Perfect Privacy, LLC and Sheri K Corwin, the respondents, over the domain name “myspectrumnews.com”. The complaint was filed on January 11, 2017.

Charter Communications argued that the domain name was confusingly similar to their “Spectrum” trademarks and that the respondents had no legitimate interest in the domain name. They alleged bad faith in the registration and passive holding of the domain name.

However, the respondents demonstrated that they registered the domain name in December 2011 for legitimate business purposes with Retirement Communities, and the renewal occurred in October 2013, before Charter Communications’ first use and trademark registration of “Spectrum”.

The WIPO Panel found that Charter Communications had not satisfied the bad faith element required under the UDRP policy. The complaint was denied, and the Panel declared it as an abuse of the administrative proceeding, constituting Reverse Domain Name Hijacking. Charter Communications’ reliance on an incorrect renewal date and the previous negotiations with the respondents to purchase the domain name were key factors in this decision.

For more detailed information, you can refer to the WIPO’s official case details here.

In the WIPO domain name dispute case D2017-0040, Charter Communications, Inc. and its subsidiaries, the complainants, filed against Perfect Privacy, LLC and Sheri K Corwin, the respondents, over the domain name “myspectrumnews.com”. The complaint was filed on January 11, 2017. Charter Communications argued that the domain name was confusingly similar to their “Spectrum” trademarks and…