Dispute Analysis: Compare Ninja Ltd. vs. Paul Nilas in WIPO Case D2018-0981

In WIPO case D2018-0981, Compare Ninja Ltd. of Israel filed a complaint against Paul Nilas of the United States regarding the domain name “ticketcompare.com”. Compare Ninja Ltd., founded in May 2017, argued that the domain name was identical or confusingly similar to their business name “Ticket-Compare”. They claimed that Paul Nilas had no rights or legitimate interests in the domain and accused him of bad faith registration and usage.

The domain, registered by Nilas in 2004, was previously owned by another party since 2000. Nilas used the domain for various services related to travel, hotel bookings, ticketing, and advertising. The Panel found that Compare Ninja Ltd. did not have a registered trademark and did not convincingly demonstrate that “ticketcompare” was a distinctive identifier associated with their services. Consequently, the Panel determined that Nilas had rights and legitimate interests in the domain and did not register or use it in bad faith.

The complaint was denied, and the Panel did not find Compare Ninja Ltd. guilty of reverse domain name hijacking, despite Nilas’ request for such a finding. This case highlights the importance of demonstrating clear trademark rights in domain name disputes.

For more detailed information, you can read the full case decision on WIPO’s website.

In WIPO case D2018-0981, Compare Ninja Ltd. of Israel filed a complaint against Paul Nilas of the United States regarding the domain name “ticketcompare.com”. Compare Ninja Ltd., founded in May 2017, argued that the domain name was identical or confusingly similar to their business name “Ticket-Compare”. They claimed that Paul Nilas had no rights or…