Takoma Park, MD - January 20, 2004 In a case heard by the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO), Future Media Architects Inc.,
(<http://www.FMA.com>) has successfully defended against a challenge from Kiwi
European Holdings B.V. over its ownership and use of the domain name KIWI.com.
Future Media Architects will retain full rights and ownership of the domain name
in accordance with the WIPO ruling.
Though Kiwi European Holdings, a subsidiary of the Sara Lee Corporation owns the
popular KIWI brand of shoe care products and the related U.S. and foreign
trademarks, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Panel found no evidence of bad
faith by FMA in its ownership of the domain name KIWI.com. The Panel concluded
that FMA neither intended nor created any consumer confusion or disruption
relating to the Kiwi Brand.
The decision by the Panel clearly establishes FMA's good faith ownership of the
KIWI.com domain name and affirms that ownership and use of generic domain names
is a legitimate and appropriate business activity. More importantly, the Panel
cited Kiwi European Holdings behavior as a clear abuse of administrative
procedure, by holding that Kiwi's complaint was brought in bad faith with a
complete lack of evidence in what the Panel termed a clear 'instance of reverse
domain name hijacking.'
"We are gratified that the Panel saw this complaint for what it was --
frivolous," said Stevan Lieberman of Greenberg & Lieberman, attorney for FMA and
recognized domain name dispute expert. "FMA will continue to vigorously defend
its intellectual property; it is just unfortunate that FMA has been forced to
defend itself against a complaint that had no basis. We certainly hope that
this ruling will dissuade other corporations from attempting to claim ownership
to generic terms to which they have no exclusive right." FMA currently manages a
portfolio of more than 100,000 domain names. Full text of the WIPO Arbitration
Panel's decision in Case No. D2004-0848 can be found online at:
<http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains/decisions/html/2004/d2004-0848.html>
Property Organization (WIPO), Future Media Architects Inc.,
(<http://www.FMA.com>) has successfully defended against a challenge from Kiwi
European Holdings B.V. over its ownership and use of the domain name KIWI.com.
Future Media Architects will retain full rights and ownership of the domain name
in accordance with the WIPO ruling.
Though Kiwi European Holdings, a subsidiary of the Sara Lee Corporation owns the
popular KIWI brand of shoe care products and the related U.S. and foreign
trademarks, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Panel found no evidence of bad
faith by FMA in its ownership of the domain name KIWI.com. The Panel concluded
that FMA neither intended nor created any consumer confusion or disruption
relating to the Kiwi Brand.
The decision by the Panel clearly establishes FMA's good faith ownership of the
KIWI.com domain name and affirms that ownership and use of generic domain names
is a legitimate and appropriate business activity. More importantly, the Panel
cited Kiwi European Holdings behavior as a clear abuse of administrative
procedure, by holding that Kiwi's complaint was brought in bad faith with a
complete lack of evidence in what the Panel termed a clear 'instance of reverse
domain name hijacking.'
"We are gratified that the Panel saw this complaint for what it was --
frivolous," said Stevan Lieberman of Greenberg & Lieberman, attorney for FMA and
recognized domain name dispute expert. "FMA will continue to vigorously defend
its intellectual property; it is just unfortunate that FMA has been forced to
defend itself against a complaint that had no basis. We certainly hope that
this ruling will dissuade other corporations from attempting to claim ownership
to generic terms to which they have no exclusive right." FMA currently manages a
portfolio of more than 100,000 domain names. Full text of the WIPO Arbitration
Panel's decision in Case No. D2004-0848 can be found online at:
<http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains/decisions/html/2004/d2004-0848.html>
