Tumblr Failed in Compete Tublr.com Domain Against Its Original Owner from Hunan, Chin
Tumblr,Inc has lost an arbitration case filled with the World Intellectual Property Organization over the domain name Tublr.com .
The World Intellectual Property Organization dismissed Tumblr's complaint which claimed that it was entitled to the domain name Tublr.com.Tumblr claimed that the domain name is confusingly similar to its trademark for "Tumblr" .
The panel ruled that the domain name Tublr.com has not been registered and used in bad faith by the respondent:
"The Panel notes from the evidence that the website redirected from the Disputed Domain Name was designed to collect personal information while promising the chance to win a prize. However, it is not apparent to the Panel that the website incorporated any content which suggested any affiliation or connection to the Complainants or the trademark TUMBLR, or any other trustworthy entity. There is insufficient evidence in this case before the Panel to establish that the Respondent is using the Disputed Domain Name in a phishing scam.
The Panel also noted that the registration of the Complainant’s domain name on June 8, 2006 pre-dated the registration of the Disputed Domain Name by about nine months. However, the Panel is mindful that the registration of a domain name does not per se impart any trademark rights, or that the world at large becomes imputed with knowledge of such a domain name. It remains necessary for sufficient use and publicity of a trademark to exist before any unregistered trademark may arise. As use of the trademark TUMBLR took place only from February 19, 2007, and no evidence of use or publicity prior to this date is present before the Panel, the Panel is unable to make any finding that the Complainant had unregistered trademark rights as of February 19, 2007for the purpose of these proceedings under the Policy. There is also insufficient evidence before the Panel in this case that the Respondent must have been aware of the trademark TUMBLR, or even the existence of the domain name as of March 27, 2007."
The domain name is owned by Bai Ling of Chenzhou, Hunan, China.
