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Google Cant Win Groovle.com in Domain Name Dispute
Google Inc. failed to win its arbitrated domain name dispute against groovle.com registrant, 207 Media Inc., of Oakville, Ontario. The loss represents only the second failure by Google to obtain a domain name transfer or cancellation in over 60 similar proceedings.
207 Media operates groovle.com to provide custom search services in accordance with Google’s own custom search interface and pursuant to a contract to provide Google Pay Per Click (“PPC”) advertisements via customized start pages. Users of groovle.com services see advertisements provided by Google, and Google pays a small percentage of the PPC advertising revenues to 207 Media. Following earlier exchanges with Google, 207 Media removed references to Google on its site and entered a disclaimer of any association. Google was not satisfied.
In its complaint under the domain name Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy, (“UDRP”), specifically para. 4(a) thereof, Google alleged that the domain name was confusingly similar to its famous GOOGLE mark. Google further alleged that 207 Media had no legitimate interest in respect of the domain name and that current use of the groovle.com domain name, in association to a website that offers services that are connected to Google, constituted bad faith use and registration. The arbitration panel reviewing the matter dismissed the complaint for failing to satisfy the first requirement: it found that the inclusion of the letters “r” and “v” were sufficient to distinguish the domain name, clearly transforming the predominant word of the domain to “groove” or “groovy”, not GOOGLE. As such, it created an entirely new word and conveyed an entirely singular meaning from the mark, and it was not confusingly similar.
For additional information, visit:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8435576.stm
http://tinyurl.com/GlobeMail-groovle
For a copy of the decision, visit: