The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) recently announced the outcome of a Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) case involving the JBMG.com domain name. This highly publicized dispute resulted in a victory for the 22-year-old domain name holder, who now owns the domain.
The case stemmed from a lawsuit filed by British music marketing company JBMG Limited against the Japanese domain name holder, jbmg inc., seeking the transfer of the JBMG.com domain name. The case went to trial on June 30, 2025. JBMG Limited (founded in 2024) claimed that JBMG.com was identical to its “JBMG” trademark, which it registered in April 2025, and requested the transfer of the domain name. The complainant also pointed out that the domain name website was merely a for-sale page with a price tag of $7,980. The complainant suspected the respondent of registering the domain name in bad faith and argued that the respondent had no legal rights to the domain name. However, the investigation revealed that the disputed domain name was registered by JBMG Co., Ltd. of Japan in November 2003, well before the Complainant’s company was established and its trademark was registered. Although the Respondent did not submit a response, the WIPO Panel reviewed the case based on the available evidence.
The Panel examined the three criteria of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP): whether the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to the trademark; whether the Respondent possesses legitimate interests; and whether the registration and use were in bad faith. The Panel found that while the domain name perfectly replicated the Complainant’s trademark “JBMG,” satisfying the first criterion, the Complainant failed to establish bad faith.
Since the domain name was registered over twenty years before the Complainant’s trademark and company establishment, and there was no evidence of bad faith infringement by the Respondent, the Complainant failed to meet the third UDRP requirement of “bad faith.” Furthermore, the Respondent’s use of the domain name solely for sales purposes, while questionable as speculative activity, did not constitute bad faith registration. Furthermore, the Complainant failed to establish a lack of legitimate interests. In summary, WIPO dismissed the complaint, upholding the ownership of the JBMG.com domain name by the Japanese owner, jbmg inc., and concluding that the 22-year-old domain name holder had won the dispute.
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