I just came across this WIPO case with regards to the domain name Aspis.com
It would have been a typical case, if it weren’t for the fact that I actually visited the web site back in 1998 when it was registered; its purpose has always been to gripe against the (then) CEO of Aspis Pronoia, an insurance company in Greece.
Not only does the .com registration predate the complainant’s Swedish mark by 8 years, it’s also a generic, dictionary, ancient Greek word that means “shield”.
So some Swedish meatball comes to claim a mark that’s three thousand years old, and only one of the 3 panelists – Mr. G. Gervaise Davis III – had the guts to engage full vision, unlike the other two panelists.
Indeed, it’s alarming to see that the WIPO system is far from flawless and that there is no fair and balanced measure of what constitutes “legitimate use” and “bad faith”.
I agree that this case is fatally flawed. G. Gervaise Davis’ dissent was right on the money.