joegratz.net

Via The Trademark Blog comes a link to this decision in a UDRP dispute over the domain name mymorganstanleyplatinum.com. The domain name was evidently used by one Mr. Woods as an example of how large companies fail to register obvious domain names. To leaven his presentation, Woods points out that the registration is actually in the name of his cat, Meow.

The opinion is, accordingly, captioned Morgan Stanley v. Meow. Seriously.

The panel holds that the element of bad faith is present, and that Morgan Stanley prevails:

Respondent maintains that it is a cat, that is, a well-known carnivorous quadruped which has long been domesticated. However, it is equally well-known that the common cat, whose scientific name is Felis domesticus, cannot speak or read or write. Thus, a common cat could not have submitted the Response (or even have registered the disputed domain name). Therefore, either Respondent is a different species of cat, such as the one that stars in the motion picture “Cat From Outer Space,” or Respondent’s assertion regarding its being a cat is incorrect.

If Respondent is in fact a cat from outer space, then it should have so indicated in its reply, in order to avoid unnecessary perplexity by the Panel. Further, it should have explained why a cat from outer space would allow Mr. Woods to use the disputed domain name. In the absence of such an explanation, the Panel must conclude that, if Respondent is a cat from outer space, then it may have something to hide, and this is indicative of bad faith behavior.

On the other hand, if Respondent’s assertion regarding its being a cat is incorrect, then Respondent has undoubtedly attempted to mislead this Panel and has provided incorrect WHOIS information. . . .

The rub is that Morgan Stanley had to pay $1,300 to resolve this exceedingly silly matter.