A legal dispute between two Texas pool construction companies, Pools123 Houston LLC and Aquamarine Pools of Texas, has resulted in a ruling for reverse domain name hijacking. The conflict centered around the domain Pools123Texas.com, which is owned by Aquamarine Pools of Texas.
The case unfolded with complex details, but the core issue was that both parties had an established business relationship, which Pools123 Houston LLC did not fully disclose in its complaint. Additionally, the Respondent, Aquamarine Pools, presented evidence showing that it had registered the domain Pools123.com years prior to the Complainant’s claim.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) panel found in favor of the Respondent, criticizing the Complainant for failing to reveal the history of their business dealings and for misrepresenting the registration timeline of the domain. The panel noted that Pools123 Houston LLC’s complaint was misleading and that the Complainant should have known it could not prove the Respondent lacked legitimate rights to the domain name.
The panel’s decision underscored that the Complainant’s actions forced the Respondent to incur significant costs defending against an unfounded complaint.
Legal representation included Chamberlain Hrdlicka for the Complainant and ESQwire.com PC for the domain owner.
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