Need to sell my house .com : UDRP takes away competitor’s domain name

NeedToSellMyHouse.com

The distressed house market has claimed another casualty; the domain NeedToSellMyHouse.com was lost in a UDRP.

The Respondent acquired the domain in 2015 for $1,200 dollars and built a brand on it.

A competitor in the same market registered the trademark NEED TO SELL MY HOUSE FAST in 2016, claiming first use in 2014.

The Respondent asserted the following:

“Complainant and Respondent are competitors within the distressed real estate lead generation market. Complainant acquired trademark rights after Respondent registered the domain name. Respondent purchased the domain name from the previous registrant on or about June 30, 2015 for $1,200.00.

The terms of the domain name are ubiquitous and commonly used in the real estate context. The terms of the domain name are also different from Complainant’s NEED TO SELL MY HOUSE FAST mark. Nobody has rights in or to the NEED TO SELL MY HOUSE mark, lacking the FAST portion. While the mark and the domain may be similar, they are not confusingly similar because small differences matter in this context. Therefore, there is no confusing similarity.

Respondent has operated with a bona fide interest as it has developed a robust website, spent considerable sums on advertising and marketing, and has spent a great deal of time and effort on the website.  In addition, Respondent has generated 4,811 leads, which it has sold to third parties. Respondent rightfully and reasonably believed that it was entitled to register and use the domain name.

Respondent did not register or use the disputed domain name in bad faith. Respondent denies that the commonalities which Complainant claims fail to show that Respondent’s website copies the Complainant’s website or that there was any substantial copying of text to which Complainant had exclusive rights.”

A three member panel examined the case on NeedToSellMyHouse.com and identified the following points in favor of the Complainant:

The Panel finds that Respondent registered and used <needtosellmyhouse.com> in bad faith. Respondent registered the domain name between June 30, 2015 and July 2, 2015. Complainant provides evidence that demonstrates that on June 30, 2015 the owner of the domain name is listed as Justdropped.com Inc., and on July 2, 2015, the owner is listed as James Vasquez. Therefore, the Panel agrees that Respondent’s registration of the disputed domain name occurred after Complainant established relevant rights in its mark.

Respondent registered the domain name to disrupt Complainant’s business through offering identical and competing services.

[…] it appears that Respondent had actual knowledge of Complainant’s rights in or to the NEED TO SELL MY HOUSE FAST mark.

The domain was thus ordered to be transferred to the Complainant, Seliger Ideas, Inc.

For the full text of the UDRP click here.

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