Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève v. Aydin Karadeniz: A Landmark Case of Domain Name Dispute

In the WIPO domain name dispute case D2016-1620, the complainant, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, a group of public hospitals in Geneva, contended against Aydin Karadeniz, the registrant of the domain names “hug.com”, “hug.net”, and “hug.org”. The complainant, established in 1995 and known as HUG, argued that these domain names were confusingly similar to its trademark. However, Karadeniz claimed he acquired the domain names for substantial sums before the complainant’s trademark registration, intending to use them for an internet search engine business, which was later dissolved.

The case hinged on whether Karadeniz had legitimate interests in the domain names and whether they were registered and used in bad faith. The WIPO panel found that the complainant failed to prove Karadeniz had no rights or legitimate interests in the domain names. Given Karadeniz’s substantial investment and efforts to use the domain names for a legitimate business, the panel concluded that the domain names were not registered or used in bad faith. Consequently, the complaint was denied.

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

In the WIPO domain name dispute case D2016-1620, the complainant, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, a group of public hospitals in Geneva, contended against Aydin Karadeniz, the registrant of the domain names “hug.com”, “hug.net”, and “hug.org”. The complainant, established in 1995 and known as HUG, argued that these domain names were confusingly similar to its trademark.…