Insight into WIPO Domain Name Dispute Case D2017-2136: Voys B.V., Voys United B.V. v. Thomas Zou

In the WIPO domain name dispute case D2017-2136, Voys B.V. and Voys United B.V., based in the Netherlands, filed a complaint against Thomas Zou of California, USA, regarding the domain name voys.com. The domain, registered by Zou with GoDaddy.com, LLC, had been acquired by him in December 2008. Zou, an investor in four-letter domain names, claimed to hold over 1000 such names.

Voys contended that the domain name was identical to their registered trademark ‘VOYS’ and that Zou had no rights or legitimate interests in it. They argued that it was registered and used in bad faith, primarily based on the fact that the domain had never been actively used and was offered for sale since 2007.

Zou refuted these claims, stating his legitimate interest as a domain name investor specializing in four-letter domain names. He argued that his acquisition of the domain was part of his legitimate business and not targeted at exploiting the Voys trademark.

The WIPO panel found that Voys failed to demonstrate that Zou had no legitimate interests in voys.com and that the domain was not registered and used in bad faith. Consequently, the complaint was denied. Additionally, the panel declared that the complaint constituted Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH), as Voys should have known that their complaint lacked a proper basis under the policy and was incomplete in its representation of the facts​​.

In the WIPO domain name dispute case D2017-2136, Voys B.V. and Voys United B.V., based in the Netherlands, filed a complaint against Thomas Zou of California, USA, regarding the domain name voys.com. The domain, registered by Zou with GoDaddy.com, LLC, had been acquired by him in December 2008. Zou, an investor in four-letter domain names,…