WIPO: Mumbai Validas OK
By Ria Sharma

American tech site myvalidas.com analyzes wireless bills for errors, disputes, and savings.  Myvalidas then "right-sizes" your plan; recovers disputes and overages; and saves clients a bundle on their wireless service. American company Validas owns MyValidas.com which works with US Telecom majors like AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.

In 2007, American firm Validas had to settle for website name MyValidas as domain name Validas.com had been registered in 2000 by an Indian based in Maharashtra.

Soon, the Indian website Validas started advertising similar services as American telecom firm Validas owned website MyValidas.  The Indian Validas home page offers you ways to lower your phone bills, chose cheap phone calls, long distance calls and even broadband.

But the Indian website has no address or contact details.  It is clearly spoofing the American site.

So what did Validas from Texas, USA do?  They sued Validas from Maharashtra to get hold of its domain name.  The case was heard at the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.  SMVS Consultancy from Mumbai, India which owns Validas did not represent themselves at the WIPO judicial hearings.

Validas, USA alleged that Validas, India had registered the domain name ‘primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the owner of the trademark or service mark (the Complainant) or to a competitor of the Complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of the Respondent’s out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name.’

The Complainant also says that the Respondent intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to the Respondent’s website by creating a likelihood of confusion with the Complainant’s mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of the Respondent’s website or location or of a product or service on the Respondent’s website or location. Internet traffic reporting, which corresponds to the Complainant’s marketing spend, clearly identifies traffic being directed to the Respondents site from December 2008.

The WIPO Judge has ruled in favour of Validas Mumbai saying he does not believe it was registered in ‘bad faith’.  The clincher was the fact that Validas, India was registered in 2000 while the Validas Trademark only came in play in 2007.  This is despite the fact that Validas India is clearly surfing the Google searches for Validas USA.