UDRP You make the call - Toros.com

[jberryhill]

There used to be a feature in US advertisements shown during football games called "You make the call!" The advertiser would show a clip of some gameplay, and ask the audience to judge whether there had been a penalty. After a few commercials, they would come back and explain what happened.

This UDRP decision hasn't been published by WIPO yet.

Take a look at the Complainant, the domain name and the Respondent, and see what you can figure out about this dispute, and its outcome, before the decision is published next week.

Now... YOU make the call!

Do some research and see what you come up with on both sides of this one. Bonus points will be awarded for finding key facts.

 

[jberryhill]

Although it shares the origin, in Turkey I don't recall hearing or seeing toros referencing bull.

What do you call the star constellation "the bull" in Turkish?

In English, it is "Taurus"....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurus_Mountains

The bull was commonly the symbol and depiction of ancient Near Eastern storm gods, hence Taurus the bull, and hence the name of the mountains. The mountains are a place of many ancient storm-god temples. Torrential thunderstorms in these mountains were deemed by the ancient Syrians to be the work of the storm-god Adad to make the Tigris and Euphrates rivers rise and flood and thereby fertilise their land.The Hurrians, probably originators of the various storm-gods of the ancient Near East, were a people whom modern scholars place in the Taurus Mountains at their probable earliest origins.

The domain name has been registered a long time, so they weren't Hurrian to get this one.

In any event, WIPO has hopelessly messed up this thread by posting the wrong case result, so I will attach the decision....

Yes, you read that right. If the Complainant's attorney - a UDRP panelist and trademark attorney had, you know, bothered to look to see if anyone OWNED A TRADEMARK FOR TOROS.COM, they would have found out the Respondent did.

So, you know the one thing I am always saying about 'don't waste your time with trademark databases'. Okay, let me clarify that. If you are going to sign a paper affirmatively declaring that someone doesn't have a trademark, yes, look at a trademark database first.

 

[jberryhill]

For the squirrel fans out there...

 

[jberryhill]

https://domainnamewire.com/2024/03/...main-name-hijacking-case-on-behalf-of-client/

WIPO panelist files reverse domain name hijacking case on behalf of client​

 

[jberryhill]

Okay. I guess I need to point out that WiPO posted the outcome incorrectly.

They actually do that a lot.

So, yes, the complaint was denied. But there’s more to it than that, which no one has noticed. Actually, two things that are pretty funny. Hydrick is close to one, and GMO is close to the other.

 

[bmugford]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1767235977620127931

 

[MariaEl]

Congratulations, Mr @jberryhill , and thank you very much for enriching our knowledge.

I'm late for contributing, but anyway I would like to emphasize that in Spanish "Toros" not only means "bulls", as it's been correctly mentioned, but it's also the popular, short term to name the bullfighting activity and events themselves. Spaniards say "ir a los toros", (literally, "go to the bulls") to mean "ir a (ver, presenciar) las corridas de toros"(bullfighting events).

For example:

 

[jberryhill]

I mean the name of the mountain range in English is Taurus, which is the sign of the bull. It was ταύρος in Greek in the Macedonian Empire.

 

[Gm0]

@jberryhill

Deny transfer...

Definition: Toro - the male of the ox family (a bull).

toro (n.)​

"bull," 1650s, from Spanish toro "bull," from Latin taurus

1) The Respondent is a "everything related to computing" company in Spain, dating back to 1994. The respondent registered the toros.com name January 19th, 1997 and has held since that time. The site was called "the bullfighting search engine" as early as 2001. Toro(s) is the perfect name for a bullfighting search engine in Spain.

2) Complainant, a Turkish Fertilizer company, registered the domain toros.com.tr on June 30, 1997 - five months after the respondent registered toros.com. Few/if any would equate "toros" to "fertilizer".

3) toros.com was registered before toros.com.tr. So, respondent, a savvy computer entrepreneur, knew how to navigate the Internet in January 1997, but could not have found the complainant's company until 5 months after registering toros.com.

4) so, no bad faith in registration.

You're welcome.

 

[Gm0]

@jberryhill

The only other thing I can add is that this fertilizer company has known for 27 years that the .com was owned legally/ethically by someone else. Then, all of the sudden, in 2023, they decide to go after it. Laches comes to mind.

 

[Mister Funsky]

Thanks @jberryhill for the thread and info...entertaining and educational.

ADD: Shout out to all those doing research and posting results!

 

[jberryhill]

One of the two funny things here is that the Respondent also owns the .net and the .org, and the complainant doesn’t even want them.

 

[zotix]

Hey, thanks for sharing!
This is an amazing and exciting case, but I think (as someone without a law degree) that "toros.com" has no bad faith like domain skimming.
Also, probably (correct me if I'm talking nonsense), because they are running their business model with this name without harming the other brand, they might keep the Domain.
Or which aspects do you see, as a lawyer?

Best
zotix

 

[Gm0]

This guy became General Manager of Toros in 2023. Not having the dot com has been driving him crazy, so he is attempting to steal for $1500.

 

[Gm0]

RDNH - as the law firm knew better. They should have advised client that it was not a winnable UDRP.

 

[Jannes]

Seems weird, especially if the decision is unanimous. Btw, in 2021 Toros Tarım didn't get torostarim.net

https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=D2021-1464

 

[jberryhill]

Toros in Turkey doesn't mean bull - it is the name of a major mountain range

…which is named that way for Taurus, the bull, which is Toros in Turkish.

 

[Business Brands]

Thanks AI, all lawyers will hopefully be replaced by AI shortly.
These things will be decided automatically.

 

[Joe123]

Toros is the name of a major mountain range in southern Turkey (the country of the complainant).

Toros is also name of a former Renault car model in Turkey - I used to drive my then-boss's Toros.

 

[DomainNature]

Some people/companies think they are entitled to COM domains, even when there is a wide range of usage cases for such domains.

 

[Chris Hydrick]

Like which ones? Try the biggies.

Are the biggies necessary?

I've never heard of Toros the Turkish fertilizer company, but if a University in Turkey is named Toros Universitesi, doesn't that prove that Toros itself isn't in fact a unique term reserved only for the Turkish fertilizer company?

Would a Turkish fertilizer (Toros.com.tr) company dare try to make a claim against Toros Universitesi (Toros.tr + Toros.edu.tr)?

Searching Google via mobile phone in california <site:Toros.*>

Search results in order:

1. Toros.consulting
2. Toros.sk
3. Toros.co.jp
4. Toros.de
5. Toros.com.ar
6. Toros.my
7. Toros.szojelentese.com
8. Toros.ty24.ru
9. Toros.com
10. Toros.finance
11. Toros.edu.tr
12. Toros.com.cn
13. Toros.com.tr

 

[jberryhill]

I was wondering why you were so jovial from the start.

Yeah. Ruined the suspense, tho. It will probably be updated when the decision is published on Monday. There’s also a typo in the decision.

 

[Mize]

Toros in Turkey doesn't mean bull - it is the name of a major mountain range

This would help the respondent as BS is fertilizer

 

[Joe123]

Are the biggies necessary?

I've never heard of Toros the Turkish fertilizer company, but if a University in Turkey is named Toros Universitesi, doesn't that prove that Toros itself isn't in fact a unique term reserved only for the Turkish fertilizer company?

Would a Turkish fertilizer (Toros.com.tr) company dare try to make a claim against Toros Universitesi (Toros.tr + Toros.edu.tr)?

Show attachment 253838

Searching Google via mobile phone in california <site:Toros.*>

Search results in order:

1. Toros.consulting
2. Toros.sk
3. Toros.co.jp
4. Toros.de
5. Toros.com.ar
6. Toros.my
7. Toros.szojelentese.com
8. Toros.ty24.ru
9. Toros.com
10. Toros.finance
11. Toros.edu.tr
12. Toros.com.cn
13. Toros.com.tr

Lots of things are named Toros or its plural Toroslar, especially in southern Turkey where the eponymous mountain range is located:
- a local council: https://toroslar-bld.gov.tr/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toroslar
- a basketball team: https://www.fiba.basketball/eurocupwomen/23-24/team/Antalya-Toroslar-Basketbol-SK
- the complainant in this case, a fertiliser producer: https://www.toros.com.tr/en/toros-corporate
- the aforementioned university: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toros_University
- a public hospital: https://torosdh.saglik.gov.tr/
- a private school group: https://www.toroskoleji.com/
- an electricity company: https://www.toroslaredas.com.tr/
- a taxi brand: https://www.torostaksi.com.tr/
- a resort: https://www.torosdeluxeresort.com.tr/
- a tyre retailer: https://toroslastik.com.tr/
- a public high school: https://torosal.meb.k12.tr/
- a food producer: https://akdeniztoros.com.tr/

 

[branding]

That's why you have to look into Spanish: Toro.es for example.

In Europe, anybody with any form of education will probably recognise the term and it's generic meaning.